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Crescendo
One awful moment shattered her life
Basslea was a haven, and Marina was totally content there. She had her music and her innocent childlike fantasies. Nothing seemed capable of changing her world--until Gideon Firth arrived.
He was everything she was not: sophisticated, urbane, powerful. And she found herself responding to his magnetism the way no unawakened girl should. . . .
He seemed to wield a power she didn't understand, until he forced her to recognize the truth for herself. Then Marina realized what was happening to her--and what had happened!
Basslea was a haven, and Marina was totally content there. She had her music and her innocent childlike fantasies. Nothing seemed capable of changing her world--until Gideon Firth arrived.
He was everything she was not: sophisticated, urbane, powerful. And she found herself responding to his magnetism the way no unawakened girl should. . . .
He seemed to wield a power she didn't understand, until he forced her to recognize the truth for herself. Then Marina realized what was happening to her--and what had happened!
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
12 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Lamb
261 books313 followersSheila Ann Mary Coates Holland
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
June 17, 2018
Gideon Firth sees a young girl on the edge of a cliff and thinks she is ready to jump off. He rushes to rescue her but he is mistaken. She (Marina) tells him that she is just out for a walk on the cliffs near her home in Basslea. Gideon says he is on holiday and he needs a place to stay. He eventually ends up staying with Marina and her grandfather at their cottage.
Marina feels that Gideon and her grandfather know each other, and that they have some secret between them. But Marina has never seen Gideon before, or has she?
Marina was a childlike and naive heroine until later in the book after some revelations are made about the past. Then I felt that Marina was hanging onto her anger towards Gideon longer than she had to. Gideon was a very jealous hero, which I always enjoy. But he was also self-absorbed and concerned mostly about himself, even though he did care for Marina and stayed around at the end to prove it. (He had a suffocating relationship with his demanding mother who wanted him to be a pianist and that relationship spoiled his outlook on women in general. So, though he wanted Marina and pursued her, he didn't want to get too attached to her or to any woman. But he found he couldn't resist Marina.)
An enjoyable and intense read by Charlotte Lamb with a lovely setting, the cottage by the sea.
Marina feels that Gideon and her grandfather know each other, and that they have some secret between them. But Marina has never seen Gideon before, or has she?
Marina was a childlike and naive heroine until later in the book after some revelations are made about the past. Then I felt that Marina was hanging onto her anger towards Gideon longer than she had to. Gideon was a very jealous hero, which I always enjoy. But he was also self-absorbed and concerned mostly about himself, even though he did care for Marina and stayed around at the end to prove it. (He had a suffocating relationship with his demanding mother who wanted him to be a pianist and that relationship spoiled his outlook on women in general. So, though he wanted Marina and pursued her, he didn't want to get too attached to her or to any woman. But he found he couldn't resist Marina.)
An enjoyable and intense read by Charlotte Lamb with a lovely setting, the cottage by the sea.
February 7, 2021
I want to live in a small cottage at the sea too😭😭😭
What a beautiful and atmospheric setting this book features!
What a beautiful and atmospheric setting this book features!
avoid
June 22, 2018Self note:
if you sleep with your mistress while dating someone you want to pursue, it IS cheating.
(As from the other reviewers mentioning platonic dates, I don’t understand this concept. You either date someone, or you don’t. Every date is platonic at the beginning. I don’t understand how it is ok because it was platonic dates. WTF Is a platonic date? When you date someone you have to be single and available. You don’t wait until moving onto third base with your date before you break up with your current girlfriend because now your date has become un-platonic and you no longer need their services. That’s called cheating. If you can’t practice abstinence until third date, stick to staying home with your mistresses or go to bars to hookup for ONS).
And secondly, I can do without the love which hero only realised when heroine almost dies.
And he may not have “technically” cheated according to many readers, but he had the intention, as he DID keep his mistress around because heroine is too young and he wasn’t sure. Well that is just barftastic. (How about you DON’T pursue her then?)
Three strikes, and you’re out.
if you sleep with your mistress while dating someone you want to pursue, it IS cheating.
(As from the other reviewers mentioning platonic dates, I don’t understand this concept. You either date someone, or you don’t. Every date is platonic at the beginning. I don’t understand how it is ok because it was platonic dates. WTF Is a platonic date? When you date someone you have to be single and available. You don’t wait until moving onto third base with your date before you break up with your current girlfriend because now your date has become un-platonic and you no longer need their services. That’s called cheating. If you can’t practice abstinence until third date, stick to staying home with your mistresses or go to bars to hookup for ONS).
And secondly, I can do without the love which hero only realised when heroine almost dies.
And he may not have “technically” cheated according to many readers, but he had the intention, as he DID keep his mistress around because heroine is too young and he wasn’t sure. Well that is just barftastic. (How about you DON’T pursue her then?)
Three strikes, and you’re out.
March 26, 2024
Angsty, melodramatic fare, with a lot of sweeping winds over the moors, thunderstorms, and a cliff perched precariously over a cold, angry sea. An ethereal girl-woman, a much older, brooding hero, and a vicious femme fatale, duke it out, with the discordant sounds of passionate piano-playing as the soundtrack. Harlequin Gothic-Lite.
April 1, 2012
I don't get what everyone sees in this book. Marina is the most unsympathetic heroine I've ever read. She's all 'Gideon is a conceited betraying selfish swine who has done me wrong!' Um, let's see. He was never an ass to you. He didn't seduce you right off the bat. He spent months taking you out doing lovely date type things with you without putting a single move on you. He was jealous of you seeing another man but begged you to tell him what he'd done wrong and why you dropped him. He only made love to you after a year when you seemed to be attracted to him. He offered marriage as soon as he realized you were pregnant. He didn't, in fact, cheat on you. His only crime seems to have been not telling you he loved you soon enough.
You on the other hand stopped seeing him without any explanation. Fair enough you were trying not to get hurt by this worldly man. But when he asked you why you'd broken things off, even though you knew he was jealous of Paul, you never had the balls to say 'so what's with you and Diana? I don't think you should be seeing both of us'. Keeping in mind that you weren't in an intimate relationship, you weren't even in a kissing relationship and exclusivity had not been in any way promised. I blame you for not saying I don't want to be just another babe on your hook so it's either just us two or no thanks. Then of course once you've recovered your mind, don't even give him a chance to explain, just keep hammering home the fact that he's a louse. When finally he gets a few words in edgewise and explains all and tells you over and over that he loves you and hasn't even seen another woman since you hooked up much less slept with one. You don't believe him. He's still a criminal. WTF? He should have just left you the first time you told him to get out. He can do better than you, you cold unfeeling selfish piece of work.
You on the other hand stopped seeing him without any explanation. Fair enough you were trying not to get hurt by this worldly man. But when he asked you why you'd broken things off, even though you knew he was jealous of Paul, you never had the balls to say 'so what's with you and Diana? I don't think you should be seeing both of us'. Keeping in mind that you weren't in an intimate relationship, you weren't even in a kissing relationship and exclusivity had not been in any way promised. I blame you for not saying I don't want to be just another babe on your hook so it's either just us two or no thanks. Then of course once you've recovered your mind, don't even give him a chance to explain, just keep hammering home the fact that he's a louse. When finally he gets a few words in edgewise and explains all and tells you over and over that he loves you and hasn't even seen another woman since you hooked up much less slept with one. You don't believe him. He's still a criminal. WTF? He should have just left you the first time you told him to get out. He can do better than you, you cold unfeeling selfish piece of work.
September 1, 2012
This was such a great ride!!! I love Charlotte Lamb, (even at her most un-PC) but this one is just a terrific story, period. The first part starts with a young girl enjoying the view on the edge of a cliff when a dark stranger come barreling up to her, thinking she's going to take a dive off the edge. After some introductions, he ends up renting a room from her and her grandfather and starts pursuing the h. There’s a lot of secrets and intrigue while you try to figure out what's going on. The author makes it obvious that something isn't as it should be, but we get our answers soon enough.
Then starts the angstfest that just leaves you gutted.
For me, this story is about love having the power to change someone into a better person. The H was incredibly flawed and openly admitted it, but owned it and was sincere in his desire to change. There were some scenes that I’m still not sure about, but feel that he was redeemed and deserved a second chance with the h. The h had her issues also with insecurity and making assumptions without discussing things openly. Another reviewer thought that the h was totally closed minded and didn’t deserve the affections of the H at all. Very interesting take on the story. I suggest you check it out…after you read the story. It’s better if you go in not knowing what to expect. It’ll ruin the effect.
I recommend this story to readers who like angry, pushy, possessive, jealous, alpha males with questionable characters who relentlessly pursue demure heroines. And for those who just say no, there wasn't any serious physical aggression except some shoulder squeezing and the like.
I’ll definitely be reading this one again!
Then starts the angstfest that just leaves you gutted.
For me, this story is about love having the power to change someone into a better person. The H was incredibly flawed and openly admitted it, but owned it and was sincere in his desire to change. There were some scenes that I’m still not sure about, but feel that he was redeemed and deserved a second chance with the h. The h had her issues also with insecurity and making assumptions without discussing things openly. Another reviewer thought that the h was totally closed minded and didn’t deserve the affections of the H at all. Very interesting take on the story. I suggest you check it out…after you read the story. It’s better if you go in not knowing what to expect. It’ll ruin the effect.
I recommend this story to readers who like angry, pushy, possessive, jealous, alpha males with questionable characters who relentlessly pursue demure heroines. And for those who just say no, there wasn't any serious physical aggression except some shoulder squeezing and the like.
I’ll definitely be reading this one again!
June 24, 2017
“Hello Red Riding Hood. I’m the Wolf.”
Crescendo by Charlotte Lamb starts like a hazy dream. A beautiful girl stands at the cliffs, and a strange man, thinking she’s about to jump, runs to save her. She isn’t; she’s just admiring the savage beauty of her coastal home. There is an instant connection between the girl, Marina, and Gideon, the stranger, who is much older. Marina lives with alone with her grandfather, plays the piano beautifully and at night shares her thoughts with her best friends, two dolls. There are secrets hidden in this tale that slowly unravel to reveal a different story altogether.
Crescendo deals with an issue that has always puzzled me. Why are so many heroes in romances absolute sluts? It’s not simply about being good in bed. A man doesn’t need to sleep with legions of women to know how to do this! He only needs to know a few, or just one, very well. There is a perceived allure of getting–and keeping—the one man that no other woman could keep. But there's something bizarre to me with how this situation is dealt. The hero’s lovers can number in the hundreds and he doesn’t really care for these women, just uses them sexually until he meets the heroine (often virginal or inexperienced). Then she changes his man-ho ways forevermore. Usually the heroine appreciates her man’s experience as it brings great sexual pleasure in bed. The hero appreciates the woman’s inexperience, as this pleases him emotionally.
There’s something that rings so false about this. I am a great believer in the special ying-yang, complementary nature of male and female relationships, but I prefer the pair to be “equally yoked” so to speak. I’d like to see more virgin heroes paired with virgin heroines. Conversely, I’d like to see mature, sexually experienced men with women of a similar familiarity. (That doesn’t mean I want them to be walking STDs though.)
So here in Crescendo is naïve, innocent Marina and Gideon, a cad with women, loving and leaving them without a care for their feelings. There is a great depth to Marina’s character and she is far more insightful than Gideon. She learns from her painful past and demands accountability when wronged. I don’t like having heroes grovel endlessly for their hurtful deeds, but major penance is required here. Gideon is so cold-hearted in his pursuit of Marina, that he doesn’t take anyone feelings into account, not Marina’s and certainly not his disposable mistresses'.
When Charlotte Lamb was bad, she was awful, but when she’s good, there was absolutely no one better. Her works often pose philosophical queries, questioning the nature of love and desire. How does a man like Gideon come into being? In Gideon‘s case, he’s not evil. His mother spoiled her boy rotten, at the same time micro-managing every aspect of his personal life, thus creating this hateful, self-centered male creature.
He says to Marina: “[Women] stifle you, smother you, and cling round like ivy. I decided when I grew up that women had their uses but had to be firmly kept in their place. I learnt to use them, and then kick them out of my life… Yes, it isn’t pretty. I could lie to you and hide all of that, but I don’t want any more secrets between us, Marina. I want you to know what I am, what I’ve been.”
So how can a man date a woman, leave her, then date her again, make her fall in love with him, seduce her, impregnate her, marry her and then betray her, all the time never giving any love in return while siphoning every ounce of feeling from her and be easily forgiven?
In Crescendo, he isn’t.
“No human being has a right to put his own desires in front of the happiness of anyone else. Gideon’s brilliance did not give him that right.”
“For all his brilliance as a musician, Gideon had been stunted in his emotional growth in childhood; unable to coordinate the demands of body and heart, like an autistic child which never makes the right connections and is isolated from those around him by his own self-absorbed internal life.”
This is the antithesis to all the romances where the hero is jerk to the heroine, then on the last few pages he makes a declaration of love and they embrace and walk happily off into their ever-after. Not here. Marina makes Gideon hurt as she wrenches his heart out of him; she’s ruthless in her cruelty to him.
“'You don’t love me—you never have. You wouldn’t know how to love. Frustrated desire was all you ever felt for me, and it’s all you feel now… And I don’t love you. If anything I despise you!’…It had given her a tortured pleasure to say that to him, to be aware that she had finally hurt him as deeply as he had ever hurt her.”
Lamb’s language here is so beautiful, so haunting and so thoughtful. The conclusion is believable and fitting. I love Marina. Some readers may judge her as too harsh, but she’s so young compared to Gideon that she has to have a strong sense of herself before they can be together. Gideon has to understand who and what he is and that he can’t remain that way if he wants a monogamous, life-long relationship with a woman he loves. The fairytale must yield to reality.
“They had each taken a silent, bitter journey into themselves, but they had returned, like characters in a fairy story, with miraculous discoveries.”
5 stars/ A
Crescendo by Charlotte Lamb starts like a hazy dream. A beautiful girl stands at the cliffs, and a strange man, thinking she’s about to jump, runs to save her. She isn’t; she’s just admiring the savage beauty of her coastal home. There is an instant connection between the girl, Marina, and Gideon, the stranger, who is much older. Marina lives with alone with her grandfather, plays the piano beautifully and at night shares her thoughts with her best friends, two dolls. There are secrets hidden in this tale that slowly unravel to reveal a different story altogether.
Crescendo deals with an issue that has always puzzled me. Why are so many heroes in romances absolute sluts? It’s not simply about being good in bed. A man doesn’t need to sleep with legions of women to know how to do this! He only needs to know a few, or just one, very well. There is a perceived allure of getting–and keeping—the one man that no other woman could keep. But there's something bizarre to me with how this situation is dealt. The hero’s lovers can number in the hundreds and he doesn’t really care for these women, just uses them sexually until he meets the heroine (often virginal or inexperienced). Then she changes his man-ho ways forevermore. Usually the heroine appreciates her man’s experience as it brings great sexual pleasure in bed. The hero appreciates the woman’s inexperience, as this pleases him emotionally.
There’s something that rings so false about this. I am a great believer in the special ying-yang, complementary nature of male and female relationships, but I prefer the pair to be “equally yoked” so to speak. I’d like to see more virgin heroes paired with virgin heroines. Conversely, I’d like to see mature, sexually experienced men with women of a similar familiarity. (That doesn’t mean I want them to be walking STDs though.)
So here in Crescendo is naïve, innocent Marina and Gideon, a cad with women, loving and leaving them without a care for their feelings. There is a great depth to Marina’s character and she is far more insightful than Gideon. She learns from her painful past and demands accountability when wronged. I don’t like having heroes grovel endlessly for their hurtful deeds, but major penance is required here. Gideon is so cold-hearted in his pursuit of Marina, that he doesn’t take anyone feelings into account, not Marina’s and certainly not his disposable mistresses'.
When Charlotte Lamb was bad, she was awful, but when she’s good, there was absolutely no one better. Her works often pose philosophical queries, questioning the nature of love and desire. How does a man like Gideon come into being? In Gideon‘s case, he’s not evil. His mother spoiled her boy rotten, at the same time micro-managing every aspect of his personal life, thus creating this hateful, self-centered male creature.
He says to Marina: “[Women] stifle you, smother you, and cling round like ivy. I decided when I grew up that women had their uses but had to be firmly kept in their place. I learnt to use them, and then kick them out of my life… Yes, it isn’t pretty. I could lie to you and hide all of that, but I don’t want any more secrets between us, Marina. I want you to know what I am, what I’ve been.”
So how can a man date a woman, leave her, then date her again, make her fall in love with him, seduce her, impregnate her, marry her and then betray her, all the time never giving any love in return while siphoning every ounce of feeling from her and be easily forgiven?
In Crescendo, he isn’t.
“No human being has a right to put his own desires in front of the happiness of anyone else. Gideon’s brilliance did not give him that right.”
“For all his brilliance as a musician, Gideon had been stunted in his emotional growth in childhood; unable to coordinate the demands of body and heart, like an autistic child which never makes the right connections and is isolated from those around him by his own self-absorbed internal life.”
This is the antithesis to all the romances where the hero is jerk to the heroine, then on the last few pages he makes a declaration of love and they embrace and walk happily off into their ever-after. Not here. Marina makes Gideon hurt as she wrenches his heart out of him; she’s ruthless in her cruelty to him.
“'You don’t love me—you never have. You wouldn’t know how to love. Frustrated desire was all you ever felt for me, and it’s all you feel now… And I don’t love you. If anything I despise you!’…It had given her a tortured pleasure to say that to him, to be aware that she had finally hurt him as deeply as he had ever hurt her.”
Lamb’s language here is so beautiful, so haunting and so thoughtful. The conclusion is believable and fitting. I love Marina. Some readers may judge her as too harsh, but she’s so young compared to Gideon that she has to have a strong sense of herself before they can be together. Gideon has to understand who and what he is and that he can’t remain that way if he wants a monogamous, life-long relationship with a woman he loves. The fairytale must yield to reality.
“They had each taken a silent, bitter journey into themselves, but they had returned, like characters in a fairy story, with miraculous discoveries.”
5 stars/ A
November 21, 2017
Only this one day have i read two books by Charlotte Lamb and she already has changed my life...this book was so BEAUTIFUL written,with wonderful characters full of deep,explosive chemistry,hot sizzling EPIC romance with a unforgettable love-story between two pianists who both have a great passion for music.
Gideon Firth and Marinas journey throughout the book was full of emotions of hearbreak,pain,happiness and powerful love.The way they meet,the instant attraction and the growing love between them just mastered it all for me.I...LOVE ALL OF IT!
Marina grew through the story and i instantly guessed the mystery from the start of the book.How she made the hero grovel just made my day,while i also hurt for him.
Gideon is a selfish,arrogant and a seductive brute the time the heroine got to know him.We knew of his cold,lifeless and coulerless child-hood and despised the thought of ever having a woman who have power over him,and in his cynical nature he pick woman as toys and uses them and toss them away when he gets tired of them.He had the same thought when he first saw Marina,but soon changes his mind when he gets to see her innocent and untouched nature,but still desiring her and never forgetting her he pursues a friendship with her.But also while falls in love with her without knowing it and fights to keep his hands off her.
And their love-story will follow with jealousy,possession,baby,marriage and eventually a accident which ends up with amnesia...and soon how the hero fights for his womans love.
Gideon are one of my favourite heroes.He is such a possessive,jealous,passionate and demanding husband,just LOVE LOVE LOVE him.Oh what a man.
How he didn`t hide his love..and how he fought for her..til the end!
Gideon Firth and Marinas journey throughout the book was full of emotions of hearbreak,pain,happiness and powerful love.The way they meet,the instant attraction and the growing love between them just mastered it all for me.I...LOVE ALL OF IT!
Marina grew through the story and i instantly guessed the mystery from the start of the book.How she made the hero grovel just made my day,while i also hurt for him.
Gideon is a selfish,arrogant and a seductive brute the time the heroine got to know him.We knew of his cold,lifeless and coulerless child-hood and despised the thought of ever having a woman who have power over him,and in his cynical nature he pick woman as toys and uses them and toss them away when he gets tired of them.He had the same thought when he first saw Marina,but soon changes his mind when he gets to see her innocent and untouched nature,but still desiring her and never forgetting her he pursues a friendship with her.But also while falls in love with her without knowing it and fights to keep his hands off her.
And their love-story will follow with jealousy,possession,baby,marriage and eventually a accident which ends up with amnesia...and soon how the hero fights for his womans love.
Gideon are one of my favourite heroes.He is such a possessive,jealous,passionate and demanding husband,just LOVE LOVE LOVE him.Oh what a man.
How he didn`t hide his love..and how he fought for her..til the end!
March 16, 2025
Once a cruel hero, who was groveling now & a sensitive and intelligent heroine with a steel backbone & an angsty and very well written story! ❤️❤️❤️ What can I want from a romance more? (sigh)
2021-11-16
Re-read and still love it alas not 5 stars loving because of the quote I’ve shared about the OW!
2021-11-16
Re-read and still love it alas not 5 stars loving because of the quote I’ve shared about the OW!
August 17, 2018
The heroine
The hero
It may have been published in 1980, but it has a late 60s kitchen sink vibe to it.
No school like Old School, and no ones does it better than Charlotte Lamb. I love her writing with its atmosphere, drama, and angst. Just beautiful.
Here we have a young girl lead astray by a self-centered and selfish H. She jumps from the usual grotty flat stasis that inflicts modern day HP heroines and goes straight for amnesia. From there she sharpens her claws to rip and tear the H down to his clay feet. It’s not pretty, but she says all the vicious things any woman who has been dumped wants to say but is too afraid to come across as ugly and bitter. She is bitter, and she is not afraid.
Stealing a quote from the book from KC 2.0's review, 'Just go. You're boring me.' Ouch! Has any heroine said anything more devastating to a hero in an HP?
Soooo, HEA or murder-suicide?
The hero
It may have been published in 1980, but it has a late 60s kitchen sink vibe to it.
No school like Old School, and no ones does it better than Charlotte Lamb. I love her writing with its atmosphere, drama, and angst. Just beautiful.
Here we have a young girl lead astray by a self-centered and selfish H. She jumps from the usual grotty flat stasis that inflicts modern day HP heroines and goes straight for amnesia. From there she sharpens her claws to rip and tear the H down to his clay feet. It’s not pretty, but she says all the vicious things any woman who has been dumped wants to say but is too afraid to come across as ugly and bitter. She is bitter, and she is not afraid.
Stealing a quote from the book from KC 2.0's review, 'Just go. You're boring me.' Ouch! Has any heroine said anything more devastating to a hero in an HP?
Soooo, HEA or murder-suicide?
February 10, 2021
3.5 stars
If you want to know how to make your man suffer for real or imagined crimes, read a Charlotte Lamb or Sally Wentworth revenge-themedmanual romance. This book's main theme isn't technically revenge, but the heroine's transformation from innocence to ice is a sight to behold, with her sharp putdowns to the hero a lesson in steely resolve:
'If you don't like the way I look at you, you have an option. Go and don't come back.'
'I can't,' he groaned, his hands hanging loosely by his side and that pain in his dark eyes. 'I love you.'
'...I don't care,' Marina said flatly. 'Just go. You're boring me.'
LOL, point to Marina.
Marina did have some justification to feel angry, but I felt she held onto her bitterness a tad too long and was unwilling to let Gideon even explain himself. I was sympathetic up until it was clear Gideon hadn't done this. I also thought it ironic how Marina kept insisting Gideon was a selfish swine yet she, too, only kept thinking of her own needs and her own suffering. I guess it takes one to know one.
So while Marina may have been a bit too childish for my tastes, I still enjoyed this (thank you to Diya for the recommendation). The unfolding of Marina's mysterious past with Gideon, his devotion, and the subsequent angst all blent together to form a riveting crescendo.
If you want to know how to make your man suffer for real or imagined crimes, read a Charlotte Lamb or Sally Wentworth revenge-themed
'If you don't like the way I look at you, you have an option. Go and don't come back.'
'I can't,' he groaned, his hands hanging loosely by his side and that pain in his dark eyes. 'I love you.'
'...I don't care,' Marina said flatly. 'Just go. You're boring me.'
LOL, point to Marina.
Marina did have some justification to feel angry, but I felt she held onto her bitterness a tad too long and was unwilling to let Gideon even explain himself. I was sympathetic up until it was clear Gideon hadn't done this. I also thought it ironic how Marina kept insisting Gideon was a selfish swine yet she, too, only kept thinking of her own needs and her own suffering. I guess it takes one to know one.
So while Marina may have been a bit too childish for my tastes, I still enjoyed this (thank you to Diya for the recommendation). The unfolding of Marina's mysterious past with Gideon, his devotion, and the subsequent angst all blent together to form a riveting crescendo.
August 15, 2016
Beautifully written, with some great plot twists. I love an amnesia story.
November 5, 2021
I loved the style.
I love the setting, I could almost breathe it.
I loved the amnesia plot, so very well planned.
I loved the heroine, so young, so sensitive, she felt too deeply even if she was only 18. Her wisdom and her maturity were stunning. She deserved better.
I loved the angst, the drama.
I loved that she didn’t immediately forgave him, that she strikes back, she hurt him as he hurt her.
This is a real woman.
The hero.
If a man at 35 behaves like he does, dating one woman and sleeping with another, and is unsure of his feelings until it’s too late, there’s no hope at all.
Up you go in my worst heroes list.
I’m sorry for the heroine. She should have divorced him, and found a real man, worthy of her.
I love the setting, I could almost breathe it.
I loved the amnesia plot, so very well planned.
I loved the heroine, so young, so sensitive, she felt too deeply even if she was only 18. Her wisdom and her maturity were stunning. She deserved better.
I loved the angst, the drama.
I loved that she didn’t immediately forgave him, that she strikes back, she hurt him as he hurt her.
This is a real woman.
The hero.
If a man at 35 behaves like he does, dating one woman and sleeping with another, and is unsure of his feelings until it’s too late, there’s no hope at all.
Up you go in my worst heroes list.
I’m sorry for the heroine. She should have divorced him, and found a real man, worthy of her.
March 17, 2017
I don't even know what to say...except I fail to see why this is a positive HEA. I'm certainly no raging literary feminist, & I'm not easily offended by traditional triggering topics in old romances -- incest, bloodspray, complete WTFery. Whether Gideon cheated or not -- who cares? That's not what squicks me. Rather, it's Marina's bizarre attitude of forgiveness re: their extremely unbalanced relationship that gives me the shivers.
It's true that Alpha Assholes are jerkoffs -- they require alpha females to level their obnoxious tendencies with screaming & face-slapping & kicking out of the bedroom, or at least a strong, silent lover who narrows her eyes so that the Asshole withers under her oh-so-polite domination (which, one might argue, is merely a more delicate branch of alpha female behavior). But the extent of Gideon's domination & creepy stalker behavior in this book is little better than psycho Christian Gray & his cronies of the newer romances. How many times does she tell him to leave? How many times does Marina say she doesn't want Gideon touching her? How many times does Gideon REFUSE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE (added creep factor: Marina's grandfather isn't physically strong enough to throw him out)? How many times does Gideon CONTINUALLY FONDLE HER DESPITE PROTESTS? How many times does Gideon justify this behavior by referencing the indisputable fact of their marriage & HER OBVIOUS DESIRE FOR HIM, so why doesn't she just admit they belong together? This kind of manipulative emoz isn't sexy, folks. It's Creepy Psycho Stalker bullshit & she should've called the cops, seen a lawyer, & gotten a restraining order.
...But hey, both Marina & Gideon stopped their emotional development around age 12, so there you go. Maybe it will work in the long run. *snort*
I actually did like the first half of this book. I don't mind large age gaps in romance, & it was interesting to see how everyone except Marina herself knew that Gideon wasn't just a random visitor to the coast. The mystery of their (obvious) hidden past was intriguing, & the whole aura reminded me of VC Andrews (especially the mind-fuckery of My Sweet Audrina). But the second half -- after the chapter-long flashback of their initial relationship -- was a seemingly endless series of conversations wherein Marina tells Gideon to GTFO, Gideon refuses, Gideon gives her punishing kisses and/or shows psycho jealousy when she talks to other men, Marina orders him to leave yet again, Gideon refuses, etc etc. Boring -- and creepy.
I've said it before & I'll say it again. There's the sexy kind of romantic possessiveness...and then there's petulant foot-stomping adolescent possessiveness. The latter is NOT sexy, even if the guy spouting it is 37 years old, shirtless, & dripping wet from a rainstorm. (And yes, that's an actual scene of reconciliation. :P)
It's true that Alpha Assholes are jerkoffs -- they require alpha females to level their obnoxious tendencies with screaming & face-slapping & kicking out of the bedroom, or at least a strong, silent lover who narrows her eyes so that the Asshole withers under her oh-so-polite domination (which, one might argue, is merely a more delicate branch of alpha female behavior). But the extent of Gideon's domination & creepy stalker behavior in this book is little better than psycho Christian Gray & his cronies of the newer romances. How many times does she tell him to leave? How many times does Marina say she doesn't want Gideon touching her? How many times does Gideon REFUSE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE (added creep factor: Marina's grandfather isn't physically strong enough to throw him out)? How many times does Gideon CONTINUALLY FONDLE HER DESPITE PROTESTS? How many times does Gideon justify this behavior by referencing the indisputable fact of their marriage & HER OBVIOUS DESIRE FOR HIM, so why doesn't she just admit they belong together? This kind of manipulative emoz isn't sexy, folks. It's Creepy Psycho Stalker bullshit & she should've called the cops, seen a lawyer, & gotten a restraining order.
...But hey, both Marina & Gideon stopped their emotional development around age 12, so there you go. Maybe it will work in the long run. *snort*
I actually did like the first half of this book. I don't mind large age gaps in romance, & it was interesting to see how everyone except Marina herself knew that Gideon wasn't just a random visitor to the coast. The mystery of their (obvious) hidden past was intriguing, & the whole aura reminded me of VC Andrews (especially the mind-fuckery of My Sweet Audrina). But the second half -- after the chapter-long flashback of their initial relationship -- was a seemingly endless series of conversations wherein Marina tells Gideon to GTFO, Gideon refuses, Gideon gives her punishing kisses and/or shows psycho jealousy when she talks to other men, Marina orders him to leave yet again, Gideon refuses, etc etc. Boring -- and creepy.
I've said it before & I'll say it again. There's the sexy kind of romantic possessiveness...and then there's petulant foot-stomping adolescent possessiveness. The latter is NOT sexy, even if the guy spouting it is 37 years old, shirtless, & dripping wet from a rainstorm. (And yes, that's an actual scene of reconciliation. :P)
April 27, 2022
Hello again, Ms Lamb. What a fantastic book! There's no one better when she's on top of her game. I read it in one sitting. Very insightful. I loved that Marina didn't forgive him easily, and Gideon didn't give up that easily (despite being rejected again and again). Gideon isn't as violent as her other heroes. He's intense in his feelings for Marina, but he didn't manhandle her. Marina is one heck of a heroine. Young but not immature. She went into the relationship knowing Gideon's flaws and the high probability that she might get hurt but still, she went for it. I get it. At times, it's hard to deny your feelings. I think I have the perfect song for this book, 'Lose you to love me' by Selena Gomez (it kept playing in my head whilst reading). I loved how she described the clothing and the food, which might sound mundane, but she made it so interesting (she made me salivate for scrambled eggs and coffee). I rarely read contemporary, but Ms Lamb's books would be the ones that I seek out whenever I want to take a break from the usual historical romances. Wonderful!
June 1, 2019
Wow. I thought this book was practically perfect. The pacing and the plotting were so well done, I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. I loved the mystery in the beginning, and the flashback to the big event. Then the epic grovel where our heroine speaks some home truths to the besotted Hero. She did not melt like a puddle at his first look, and made him EARN it! I loved this book!
Safety
Safety
February 7, 2021
What a book! Ive always been a fan of Charlotte Lamb, but I believe I've found the one book that clearly cements her place as the author queen of harlequins. This story was so emotional and pulled at every one of my heart strings and I honestly cannot think of any other book that has affected me in such a manner in recent years. And only CL could give us a H, who had very few redeeming qualities, who had been seriously cruel to the h and still make him likeable enough to believe in the HEA he gets.
The h and H ( Marina and Gideon) are estranged husband and wife and the story tells of how they find their way back to each other - with a twist. Have you ever been so heartbroken, that at some point, the mind has to delete/rewind the agony of it all? that's what happens here. The h, so traumatised by the H's perceived actions; flees from him and then gets into an accident that robs her of her unborn child and her sanity. Her mind then takes her back to when she was 18 (before she met the H) in a bid to protect her fragile senses. This period of amnesia is so poignant, that she doesn't remember the H, her husband, when she meets him a year after the incident.
The H of course, seizes this opportunity to wipe the slate clean and begin afresh. He woos her and seduces her, till the day the h finally remembers everything. And then you see him grovel, like you've never seen any other Harlequin H do. He is remorseful, he is scared of losing his woman, but at the same time, is quick to pick up on the subtle signals the h sends him when she's in need of intimacy and uses them to melt her further. He takes advantage of her very obvious vulnerability to him, but you can't really hate him for it. The h is no simpering door mat either, and gives the H a dose of his own medicine after her memory returns. She's cruel to him in turn and gave him no hope of ever earning her forgiveness. But of course, she does eventually forgive him, and I loved reading about how that happened. What a beautiful story.
My only grouse? It could have been longer. Other than that, this was probably as perfect as Harlequin could get within the prescribed word limit. A solid five stars!
The h and H ( Marina and Gideon) are estranged husband and wife and the story tells of how they find their way back to each other - with a twist. Have you ever been so heartbroken, that at some point, the mind has to delete/rewind the agony of it all? that's what happens here. The h, so traumatised by the H's perceived actions; flees from him and then gets into an accident that robs her of her unborn child and her sanity. Her mind then takes her back to when she was 18 (before she met the H) in a bid to protect her fragile senses. This period of amnesia is so poignant, that she doesn't remember the H, her husband, when she meets him a year after the incident.
The H of course, seizes this opportunity to wipe the slate clean and begin afresh. He woos her and seduces her, till the day the h finally remembers everything. And then you see him grovel, like you've never seen any other Harlequin H do. He is remorseful, he is scared of losing his woman, but at the same time, is quick to pick up on the subtle signals the h sends him when she's in need of intimacy and uses them to melt her further. He takes advantage of her very obvious vulnerability to him, but you can't really hate him for it. The h is no simpering door mat either, and gives the H a dose of his own medicine after her memory returns. She's cruel to him in turn and gave him no hope of ever earning her forgiveness. But of course, she does eventually forgive him, and I loved reading about how that happened. What a beautiful story.
My only grouse? It could have been longer. Other than that, this was probably as perfect as Harlequin could get within the prescribed word limit. A solid five stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2020
Great angst and loved that the h had a backbone and was wise beyond her years...more so than the H. Loved the grovel, it was long and well-done. I would have rated this higher had the H not slept with the OW after meeting the h...mind you, the MC's weren't dating or anything yet but the H was already kinda obsessed with her. Ah, well. At least once he realized that it was love he felt for the h, he stopped being a manwhore. And I do believe that he didn't kiss the OW that night the h caught him in his flat but, geez, can't these heroes react sooner and just dump the OW on the floor or something?!!! All in all, great read and believable HEA. Recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2025
I'll take a suffering hero for ⋆˙∞˚.⁺ angst please
This book starts out so... sinister.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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This book starts out so... sinister.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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June 30, 2022
miscommunication trope has never been so wonderful.
September 28, 2021
ohmehgerd. I bow down to My Lady Lamb. 🙌🏻
This book with it's sweeping dramatic setting, gothic tone, brooding mysterious jealous Hero, vulnerable but strong as hell heroine. The drama, the angst, the OBSESSION. I just CAN NOT with this.
✨Per-f*cking-fection.✨
How the heck does Charlotte Lamb manage to fit all this emotion and STORY in less than 300 pages, when many modern authors can't even manage proper development in a trilogy?? I'll never understand it but I love it so much. 💕
My book friends laugh at me with my love of all the drama, and boy does this book serve it up beautifully. A dramatic misunderstanding that leads to an hysterical fleeing of the scene, which leads to a terrible tragedy, which causes A*M*N*E*S*I*A and eventually a GROVEL. I really can't ask for more. 🤩🤷🏼♀️
Bottom Line? 5 perfectly dramatic stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama
- OM drama
- no dubcon
- miscarriage
This book with it's sweeping dramatic setting, gothic tone, brooding mysterious jealous Hero, vulnerable but strong as hell heroine. The drama, the angst, the OBSESSION. I just CAN NOT with this.
✨Per-f*cking-fection.✨
How the heck does Charlotte Lamb manage to fit all this emotion and STORY in less than 300 pages, when many modern authors can't even manage proper development in a trilogy?? I'll never understand it but I love it so much. 💕
My book friends laugh at me with my love of all the drama, and boy does this book serve it up beautifully. A dramatic misunderstanding that leads to an hysterical fleeing of the scene, which leads to a terrible tragedy, which causes A*M*N*E*S*I*A and eventually a GROVEL. I really can't ask for more. 🤩🤷🏼♀️
Bottom Line? 5 perfectly dramatic stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama
- OM drama
- no dubcon
- miscarriage
July 18, 2017
"Crescendo" is the story of Marina and Gideon.
Marina lives a simple existence with her "Grandie", spending time in the meadow and playing piano- when a "stranger" Gideon intrudes on a peaceful life.. and she discovers things are not they seem as the past is slowly exposed.
I have to give kudos to the author for the first half as the mystery was well written and keeps you on the edge of your toes.
In the second half, there is a heavy dose of angst- however I love a groveling hero who doesn't give up.
The small growth the characters showed was admirable, and I love that the heroine made the hero repent for the things in the past.
Not safe by definition
4/5
Marina lives a simple existence with her "Grandie", spending time in the meadow and playing piano- when a "stranger" Gideon intrudes on a peaceful life.. and she discovers things are not they seem as the past is slowly exposed.
I have to give kudos to the author for the first half as the mystery was well written and keeps you on the edge of your toes.
In the second half, there is a heavy dose of angst- however I love a groveling hero who doesn't give up.
The small growth the characters showed was admirable, and I love that the heroine made the hero repent for the things in the past.
Not safe by definition
4/5
December 26, 2012
This is definitely a 5 star read! I won't go into any details, because this is a book that you want to start reading knowing absolutely nothing than what the back cover tells you.
This is quintessential Charlotte Lamb...
This is quintessential Charlotte Lamb...
November 12, 2016
4.5 stars
I don't understand why so many people have rated this book as a cheating romance story in the Cheating category. In my opinion it is not a cheating story. It is an amnesia romance with assumption of cheating.
I don't understand why so many people have rated this book as a cheating romance story in the Cheating category. In my opinion it is not a cheating story. It is an amnesia romance with assumption of cheating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
maybe
June 10, 2022Self note
Cheating H.
He was still with his mistress while they were dating.
"He went on platonic dates with heroine , and was still sleeping with his mistress"
After marriage, she finds him kissing her on the couch, she runs out, gets hit by a car, loses her baby and memory.
15yr age gap.
Cheating H.
He was still with his mistress while they were dating.
"He went on platonic dates with heroine , and was still sleeping with his mistress"
After marriage, she finds him kissing her on the couch, she runs out, gets hit by a car, loses her baby and memory.
15yr age gap.
June 11, 2025
And this is why we continue to read hundreds of Harlequins, in search of this kind of wrenching drama and passion and pain and regret and hard-earned redemption, all within 187 pages.
Added bonus of brilliant piano music at its center, a gruff grandpa, a H who starts out with the usual arrogance but arrives at a moment of stunning self-knowledge and remorse, and a young heroine who sees herself, her music, and the guy she loves with astonishing clarity.
Wow. Instant favorite. (Minus some questionable terminology and the usual HP issues, obviously.)
Added bonus of brilliant piano music at its center, a gruff grandpa, a H who starts out with the usual arrogance but arrives at a moment of stunning self-knowledge and remorse, and a young heroine who sees herself, her music, and the guy she loves with astonishing clarity.
Wow. Instant favorite. (Minus some questionable terminology and the usual HP issues, obviously.)
January 13, 2019
I usually like stories with amnesia as the main plot. But this whole story got on my nerves. I disliked both characters and felt no empathy with either.
Marina is staying with her grandfather in the countryside far from the hustle and bustle of London. When a tall dark stranger arrives to disturb her peace and quiet. She’s suspicious of him as he and her grandfather seem to already know one another, but both deny this.
It turns out this stranger is no stranger at all, he’s her husband Gideon, he’s a famous pianist and an ex pupil of her grandfather. Marina is suffering from Amnesia, but to cut to the chase when she regains her memories she now knows why she’s estranged from Gideon. During their marriage Marina had arrived unexpectedly in town and had caught him in their home with his ex lover the two were kissing, Marina ran out into the street and was run over and lost the baby she was carrying.
Once Marina’s memories returned this story went downhill for me, the sniping and arguing was on almost every page, it all got very boring. Quite honestly I just felt Marina was too young and inexperienced for Gideon and he was too spoilt and too used to having his own way. He was too old and experienced for Marina.
Marina is staying with her grandfather in the countryside far from the hustle and bustle of London. When a tall dark stranger arrives to disturb her peace and quiet. She’s suspicious of him as he and her grandfather seem to already know one another, but both deny this.
It turns out this stranger is no stranger at all, he’s her husband Gideon, he’s a famous pianist and an ex pupil of her grandfather. Marina is suffering from Amnesia, but to cut to the chase when she regains her memories she now knows why she’s estranged from Gideon. During their marriage Marina had arrived unexpectedly in town and had caught him in their home with his ex lover the two were kissing, Marina ran out into the street and was run over and lost the baby she was carrying.
Once Marina’s memories returned this story went downhill for me, the sniping and arguing was on almost every page, it all got very boring. Quite honestly I just felt Marina was too young and inexperienced for Gideon and he was too spoilt and too used to having his own way. He was too old and experienced for Marina.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2017
Ok..... that was certainly a different experience.
The story was good. Writing style was excellent. Good character development location description etc..etc.
Then what was the problem? Obviously HERO (sigh). I can accept he was selfish, that he was mean and jerk. I think he redeemed all that in the end. What I cant accept is unfaithfulness. He went platonic date with heroine , and was still sleeping with his mistress. Is it too much to ask him to be little more considerate about these things?! This thing circled in my mind through out the whole story so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. That’s why 3 stars. And also they lost their baby in accident and they didn’t discuss about it for once! Heroine was more upset about the fact that she found him with other woman. How can that be? Ugh!
But we have to give some points for Gideons stubborn persistence and Marina’s strong refusal to forgive him easily.
Book was filled with love , angst, loads of grovel and forgiveness.
I definitely wont be reading this again.
The story was good. Writing style was excellent. Good character development location description etc..etc.
Then what was the problem? Obviously HERO (sigh). I can accept he was selfish, that he was mean and jerk. I think he redeemed all that in the end. What I cant accept is unfaithfulness. He went platonic date with heroine , and was still sleeping with his mistress. Is it too much to ask him to be little more considerate about these things?! This thing circled in my mind through out the whole story so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. That’s why 3 stars. And also they lost their baby in accident and they didn’t discuss about it for once! Heroine was more upset about the fact that she found him with other woman. How can that be? Ugh!
But we have to give some points for Gideons stubborn persistence and Marina’s strong refusal to forgive him easily.
Book was filled with love , angst, loads of grovel and forgiveness.
I definitely wont be reading this again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2022
5/5 ⭐️ This is a new to me author and I fell in love with her writing style. The way that she described the setting of this story was just magnificent. I literally felt like I was experiencing the same surroundings as the characters.
This was a very short and quick read but very entertaining. It kept me interested because of all the secrets involved in this story. It also had a little twist that I can honestly say did not see coming. The emotions this little book made me feel was shocking. I loved it so much!
Marina was such a great heroine! She was such a sweetheart. I loved how friendly and good-natured she was. Gideon was very mysterious but you can tell from the beginning how much he cared for Marina. I also loved his jealous moments 🥰👍🏼. Overall it was a great read and I can’t wait to read more from this author! I just absolutely adored this book so much!
I also had to share my favorite quote from this book:
“I thought you’d gone,” she whispered.
“I’ll never go. How can I? How far would I get without my heart?”
I was smiling so hard when he said that 🥰.
This was a very short and quick read but very entertaining. It kept me interested because of all the secrets involved in this story. It also had a little twist that I can honestly say did not see coming. The emotions this little book made me feel was shocking. I loved it so much!
Marina was such a great heroine! She was such a sweetheart. I loved how friendly and good-natured she was. Gideon was very mysterious but you can tell from the beginning how much he cared for Marina. I also loved his jealous moments 🥰👍🏼. Overall it was a great read and I can’t wait to read more from this author! I just absolutely adored this book so much!
I also had to share my favorite quote from this book:
“I thought you’d gone,” she whispered.
“I’ll never go. How can I? How far would I get without my heart?”
I was smiling so hard when he said that 🥰.
December 17, 2016
This was a pretty good book. It's after 3am here and I am tired, so I was confused quite a bit reading it and had to go back and read slower. However many loops Charlotte Lamb threw me, I got through it. The emotions are just crazy. You got your "happy ending" I would of loved to see more of an ending to it. Just to complete it, to make sure they lasted forever.
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