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Love Him or Leave Him
She found a real link between love and hate.
Anne Hemming was not the type to hate anyone, but the morning Mr. Jerome angrily fired her she certainly came close.
For every bad, however, there is a good, and Anne heard of a small inheritance with which she resolved to take a long luxurious holiday in the Lake District.
Just as well she didn't know then how that holiday and David Jerome were to change her life.
Anne Hemming was not the type to hate anyone, but the morning Mr. Jerome angrily fired her she certainly came close.
For every bad, however, there is a good, and Anne heard of a small inheritance with which she resolved to take a long luxurious holiday in the Lake District.
Just as well she didn't know then how that holiday and David Jerome were to change her life.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Mary Burchell
167 books85 followersIda Cook was born on 1904 at 37 Croft Avenue, Sunderland, England. With her eldest sister Mary Louise Cook (1901), she attending the Duchess' School in Alnwick. Later the sisters took civil service jobs in London, and developed a passionate interest in opera. The sisters helped 29 jews to escape from the Nazis, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.
As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.
As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 18, 2013
I absolutely adored this book. First, the writing was exceptional. Though written in an "old fashioned" style of speech, it was very well done. Secondly, the story was fun and engaging with an all time evil OW to beat all OW. Except this OW happened to be the jealous fiancee of our hero.
This is vintage Harlequin so if you are looking for lust and steam, you should definitely pass on this one. However, if you are looking for light, engaging and extremely well written, then search no more, this should do the trick!
Definitely a classic from Burchell and in my opinion one of her very best.
This is vintage Harlequin so if you are looking for lust and steam, you should definitely pass on this one. However, if you are looking for light, engaging and extremely well written, then search no more, this should do the trick!
Definitely a classic from Burchell and in my opinion one of her very best.
May 23, 2020
This was fun -- not a lot of romance, but so very of its time.
January 15, 2013
I am a MB fan so I almost always love her books. This one had a bit more humor than she normally wrote but despite the humor for me the book still drug a bit in the middle. Every time I read one of her books I am impressed by her smooth easy writing style. Her dialogue is natural and despite the fact she mostly wrote in the 1940's-1960's her writing seems almost timeless.
The h, Anne, was feisty and at the opening of the book she goes off on her boss, the H, and he fires her. As typical in a harlequin of the 1950'2 or 60's she doesn't hold onto her anger for long and quickly reverts to sweet and forgiving. She decides to take off on a once in a lifetime holiday with the money from an unexpected inheritance. She runs into the H the first day of her holiday and has some humorous encounters with him. There is of course the usual evil other woman. Of course she's not really the other woman because she actually is engaged to the H but she is a real witch. For me the evil ow gets a little tedious so that's the point where the book kind of drags.
So anyway there is a nice resolution and a sweet hea so all is well.
The h, Anne, was feisty and at the opening of the book she goes off on her boss, the H, and he fires her. As typical in a harlequin of the 1950'2 or 60's she doesn't hold onto her anger for long and quickly reverts to sweet and forgiving. She decides to take off on a once in a lifetime holiday with the money from an unexpected inheritance. She runs into the H the first day of her holiday and has some humorous encounters with him. There is of course the usual evil other woman. Of course she's not really the other woman because she actually is engaged to the H but she is a real witch. For me the evil ow gets a little tedious so that's the point where the book kind of drags.
So anyway there is a nice resolution and a sweet hea so all is well.
April 4, 2012
This was sort of a secretary boss romance. Anne gets herself fired pretty much on the first page of the book by answering back to the boss over a mistake she made when he indicated she was incompetent in every way.
Of course they meet again in rather embarrassing circumstances but are thrown together when he is injured and needs a secretary. With the usual complications of another woman, his evil machinating fiancee and her charming but feckless brother it looks like they will never sort it out.
But of course they do. Oops, a spoiler. Seriously though if you think they aren't going to get together you are reading the wrong genre.
Of course they meet again in rather embarrassing circumstances but are thrown together when he is injured and needs a secretary. With the usual complications of another woman, his evil machinating fiancee and her charming but feckless brother it looks like they will never sort it out.
But of course they do. Oops, a spoiler. Seriously though if you think they aren't going to get together you are reading the wrong genre.
January 16, 2013
I actually thought this was a good and well thought out novel. The hero was a dick at first but quickly turned out to be a round about well thought out hero. The heroine was young, sweet and adorable. I was glad for their happy ending.
July 12, 2020
2020 QUARANTINE READ: 3.5 stars!
To be honest, there's no really romance between the ML and FL except maybe in the last few pages. For me, this is about the FL who got sacked by her boss (ML), found inheritance, got a luxurious holiday, made some friends, met ML and his fiance, temporarily worked for ML, lost letters/papers (as they always do in MB's books ahahaha), etc. etc.
I enjoyed reading this one. Sooo, what's next for MB reading fest?
To be honest, there's no really romance between the ML and FL except maybe in the last few pages. For me, this is about the FL who got sacked by her boss (ML), found inheritance, got a luxurious holiday, made some friends, met ML and his fiance, temporarily worked for ML, lost letters/papers (as they always do in MB's books ahahaha), etc. etc.
I enjoyed reading this one. Sooo, what's next for MB reading fest?
August 16, 2022
3.5 Mostly charming story about a secretary falling for her not-too-nasty employer/former employer, with a detour around the Lake Distract with a wannabe-OM. I tend to quite like Mary Burchell's OM, and Robin is no exception. Anne's reasoning that they couldn't be happy together because was sound, but I think he was also right when he said he would have had a decent chance if David had never shown up. I also liked the other secondary characters and I choose to believe that after the book ends, Mrs Thurber and Miss Haskin fall in love, set up house together, and go on to solve a series of low-stakes mysteries. Mrs Thurber deserves some happiness and I love Miss Haskin.
Anne is an appealing heroine, very likeable but flawed enough to be human, and David, without changing all that much, becomes increasingly palatable as a romantic lead. The drama manages to feel both low-stakes and emotionally intense (much angst is occasioned by a corporate letter's failure to arrive). Unfortunately, although I thought the main characters were compatible and would make each other happy, I found the ending a bit sad because of the automatic assumption that Anne would stop working when she marries David. I know what I'm getting into when I read vintage romance and given that this was published in 1950 I didn't expect the heroine to keep her job, but it was still a downer because the rest of the book established that Anne likes her work and finds satisfaction in doing it well -- as she falls in love with David, doing good work for him takes on more importance for her, but she also felt that way when she wasn't working for him/before she had any feelings for him.
Also, there's a rather distasteful joke about domestic violence right at the end.
Anne is an appealing heroine, very likeable but flawed enough to be human, and David, without changing all that much, becomes increasingly palatable as a romantic lead. The drama manages to feel both low-stakes and emotionally intense (much angst is occasioned by a corporate letter's failure to arrive). Unfortunately, although I thought the main characters were compatible and would make each other happy, I found the ending a bit sad because of the automatic assumption that Anne would stop working when she marries David. I know what I'm getting into when I read vintage romance and given that this was published in 1950 I didn't expect the heroine to keep her job, but it was still a downer because the rest of the book established that Anne likes her work and finds satisfaction in doing it well -- as she falls in love with David, doing good work for him takes on more importance for her, but she also felt that way when she wasn't working for him/before she had any feelings for him.
Also, there's a rather distasteful joke about domestic violence right at the end.
July 10, 2014
Not one of Mary Burchell's best. The heroine, Anne, makes a small mistake while working for the Boss in place of his usual secretary. When he coldly confronts her, she blows up at him and gets fired. I actually admired this show of spunk in a romance published in 1950.
Then she gets a small inheritance and decides to take a vacation before she job hunts. Who does she run into in the Lake District? Why, David Jerome, the man who fired her, and his awful fiancee.
The boss is injured and Anne volunteers to help him with his letters (for free, while on vacation), and he falls in love with her then and there. It's hard to reconcile the words she calls him at the beginning of the book with the man she falls in love with. The awful fiancee manages to make it look like Anne made another terrible mistake (again, while working on vacation FOR FREE) but he sees through that and clears Anne's name, dumps the fiancee, and proposes to Anne. The hero really does nothing to get fallen in love with throughout the story, and I was disturbed by this passage at the end.
Anne (referring to her landlady Mrs. Thurber): "She thinks you're masterful and like her late husband."
"I'm so glad," David said absently, taking her in his arms again.
"He drank and, I think, knocked her about," observed Anne demurely. At which David laughed and shook her.
"No wonder, if Mrs. Thurber used to be as provoking as you," he retorted.
Only for die-hard Mary Burchell fans who want to read all her books.
Then she gets a small inheritance and decides to take a vacation before she job hunts. Who does she run into in the Lake District? Why, David Jerome, the man who fired her, and his awful fiancee.
The boss is injured and Anne volunteers to help him with his letters (for free, while on vacation), and he falls in love with her then and there. It's hard to reconcile the words she calls him at the beginning of the book with the man she falls in love with. The awful fiancee manages to make it look like Anne made another terrible mistake (again, while working on vacation FOR FREE) but he sees through that and clears Anne's name, dumps the fiancee, and proposes to Anne. The hero really does nothing to get fallen in love with throughout the story, and I was disturbed by this passage at the end.
Anne (referring to her landlady Mrs. Thurber): "She thinks you're masterful and like her late husband."
"I'm so glad," David said absently, taking her in his arms again.
"He drank and, I think, knocked her about," observed Anne demurely. At which David laughed and shook her.
"No wonder, if Mrs. Thurber used to be as provoking as you," he retorted.
Only for die-hard Mary Burchell fans who want to read all her books.
June 8, 2014
Fantastic nasty/bitchy OW!
July 26, 2026
TBC at 46%.
I have read 46% of Love Him or Leave Him by Mary Burchell and have decided to stop for now because it is not holding my attention strongly enough.
My main problem is the heroine. She begins with some backbone, but quickly becomes too much of a doormat.
At the start, she is temporarily working as secretary to her boss’s intimidating superior. He has exceptionally high standards that only his own talented secretary normally meets, and the rest of the company fears him.
He blames the heroine for an error in a letter and implies that she is incompetent. She has worked happily for her usual boss for two years and is valued by him, so she feels unfairly judged. She finally loses her temper, tells the hero that nobody likes him and calls him pampered and arrogant. He fires her.
That same day, she learns that an elderly neighbour she sometimes helped has left her a modest legacy. She uses some of it to take a holiday in the Lake District.
On her first day there, she encounters the hero again. He is visiting his fiancée. Without knowing the connection, the heroine has already befriended the fiancée’s cousin, with whom the fiancée lives. She therefore keeps meeting the hero while sightseeing with the cousin.
This setup had plenty of potential. Unfortunately, the heroine soon begins blaming herself for everything she said.
She apologises excessively, begs the hero not to tell anyone because she fears being judged as a terrible secretary, and loses the confidence she showed in their first confrontation.
When the hero later breaks his ankle, she goes to him and offers to work as his secretary. He has told her that her earlier mistake cost him a significant amount of money, so she also feels guilty about that.
The story attempts to presents her behaviour as selfless and admirable but really its intended to paint her as a good little self sacrificing doormat of a woman which i found distasteful, as it impliesany woman with a backbone was deemed an evil villainess in that era.
I found the underlying dynamic of her motivations distasteful. She seems secretly attracted to him and increasingly determined to put herself in his way, prove her worth and volunteer her services like a dutiful little doormat, all while sneering at his jealous fiancée. She spurned feminine solidarity in favour of sucking up to a man and being his good little pet. Such a "pick me" of a creature.
There is also another man—the fiancée’s cousin—who is interested in the heroine and tries to look out for her and gently prevent her being used by the hero. She repeatedly lets him down so she can continue grovelling to the hero and pathetically licking up every measly crumb he throws her from the dirty ground.
The dynamic seems to reflect an older idea of goodness in women: that a worthy heroine must be endlessly self-sacrificing and submissive.
I wanted her to retain more backbone. I also wanted the hero to recognise that he is part of the problem. Many people in his company dislike or fear him, and his treatment of ordinary employees clearly needs to change.
The story does not appear to be moving in that direction.
He even gives the heroine an opportunity to explain who dislikes him and why. Instead of telling him the truth, she retreats and claims that she exaggerated.
That was a second chance for her to challenge his behaviour and make him consider treating his staff more humanely. Instead, the scene suggests that he is admirable simply for asking, while quietly removing any need for him to change.
By the 46% mark, I had had enough. The writing itself is good, and I often enjoy gentle, old-fashioned romances. I have also liked other books by Mary Burchell. However, this one currently seems unlikely to give the hero a meaningful redemption arc or allow the heroine to become anything more than his accommodating, self-sacrificing sycophant.
I have placed it on my To Be Continued shelf rather than abandoning it permanently. I may return to it because I have enjoyed this author before, but at present I am not sure I will finish it.
I have read 46% of Love Him or Leave Him by Mary Burchell and have decided to stop for now because it is not holding my attention strongly enough.
My main problem is the heroine. She begins with some backbone, but quickly becomes too much of a doormat.
At the start, she is temporarily working as secretary to her boss’s intimidating superior. He has exceptionally high standards that only his own talented secretary normally meets, and the rest of the company fears him.
He blames the heroine for an error in a letter and implies that she is incompetent. She has worked happily for her usual boss for two years and is valued by him, so she feels unfairly judged. She finally loses her temper, tells the hero that nobody likes him and calls him pampered and arrogant. He fires her.
That same day, she learns that an elderly neighbour she sometimes helped has left her a modest legacy. She uses some of it to take a holiday in the Lake District.
On her first day there, she encounters the hero again. He is visiting his fiancée. Without knowing the connection, the heroine has already befriended the fiancée’s cousin, with whom the fiancée lives. She therefore keeps meeting the hero while sightseeing with the cousin.
This setup had plenty of potential. Unfortunately, the heroine soon begins blaming herself for everything she said.
She apologises excessively, begs the hero not to tell anyone because she fears being judged as a terrible secretary, and loses the confidence she showed in their first confrontation.
When the hero later breaks his ankle, she goes to him and offers to work as his secretary. He has told her that her earlier mistake cost him a significant amount of money, so she also feels guilty about that.
The story attempts to presents her behaviour as selfless and admirable but really its intended to paint her as a good little self sacrificing doormat of a woman which i found distasteful, as it impliesany woman with a backbone was deemed an evil villainess in that era.
I found the underlying dynamic of her motivations distasteful. She seems secretly attracted to him and increasingly determined to put herself in his way, prove her worth and volunteer her services like a dutiful little doormat, all while sneering at his jealous fiancée. She spurned feminine solidarity in favour of sucking up to a man and being his good little pet. Such a "pick me" of a creature.
There is also another man—the fiancée’s cousin—who is interested in the heroine and tries to look out for her and gently prevent her being used by the hero. She repeatedly lets him down so she can continue grovelling to the hero and pathetically licking up every measly crumb he throws her from the dirty ground.
The dynamic seems to reflect an older idea of goodness in women: that a worthy heroine must be endlessly self-sacrificing and submissive.
I wanted her to retain more backbone. I also wanted the hero to recognise that he is part of the problem. Many people in his company dislike or fear him, and his treatment of ordinary employees clearly needs to change.
The story does not appear to be moving in that direction.
He even gives the heroine an opportunity to explain who dislikes him and why. Instead of telling him the truth, she retreats and claims that she exaggerated.
That was a second chance for her to challenge his behaviour and make him consider treating his staff more humanely. Instead, the scene suggests that he is admirable simply for asking, while quietly removing any need for him to change.
By the 46% mark, I had had enough. The writing itself is good, and I often enjoy gentle, old-fashioned romances. I have also liked other books by Mary Burchell. However, this one currently seems unlikely to give the hero a meaningful redemption arc or allow the heroine to become anything more than his accommodating, self-sacrificing sycophant.
I have placed it on my To Be Continued shelf rather than abandoning it permanently. I may return to it because I have enjoyed this author before, but at present I am not sure I will finish it.
May 23, 2023
Oh my... such an adorable story :) Never thought I would ever rate a M&B 5 star... but this was just exceptional.. such fun!
Witty, Irreverent dialogue that keeps you smiling continously, an absolutely loveable hero (where most in HP/MB land are womanizing cheating &hit) a lovely heroine, completely dislikeable OW ... what else does one want .. perhaps a less likeable OM because one feels sort of sorry for him in the end!
Highly recommended
Steam meter- kisses only
Improved my mood tremendously when I was feeling somewhat disheartened by my own muse deserting me..
Witty, Irreverent dialogue that keeps you smiling continously, an absolutely loveable hero (where most in HP/MB land are womanizing cheating &hit) a lovely heroine, completely dislikeable OW ... what else does one want .. perhaps a less likeable OM because one feels sort of sorry for him in the end!
Highly recommended
Steam meter- kisses only
Improved my mood tremendously when I was feeling somewhat disheartened by my own muse deserting me..
November 9, 2024
The heroine fell in love with her former boss. He was engaged to OW. I didn’t like the heroine leading on the nice OM while pining after the H. She justified it as being friends with the OM even if deep down she had to know he was interested. Luckily for the h. the OW was so jealous that she fell in her own trap.
June 29, 2023
Nice clean romance!
August 5, 2025
One star alone for the fiery way the FMC lays into the MMC in the opening pages when he fires her: “But only someone intolerant and bad-tempered and quite ridiculously pampered would speak in the way you have spoken. You have no right to imply that I’m habitually careless, and certainly you have no right to suggest that I’m mentally retarded.” You go, Anne! Mary Burchell is one of my favourite old school Harlequin authors - the humour, character and plot development, and witty dialogue in her books are delightful.
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January 3, 2016The H could have shown more affection.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews