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Shadowed Reunion
Oh, she was mean-minded, possessive, Katie told herself ashamedly. And scared. When four-year-old Kim learned that Sasha Kimberly was his real father and threw his arms around Sasha's neck, she felt a knife-thrust of jealousy and fear.It wasn't fair. Katie had come to Hawaii. Made a new life for herself. Her little crafts shop was her pride and joy. Once she had begged for Sasha's kisses, but he had betrayed her. Once she had left him. Could she stem the tide of passion that rose to meet his as he kissed her, stripping away her inhibitions as skillfully and swiftly as his sudden presence stripped away the years?
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 1981
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52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 14, 2014
One of the most pathetic needy females I have ever read she had no pride or backbone I just felt like slapping her!
March 17, 2022
One of the worst heroes ever and one of the most stupid heroines.
That it, the perfect couple.
They marry young, she's a very insecure creature and lets her bff manipulate her and persuade her that her husband is cheating on her.
So she becomes obsessive and makes the life of the hero impossible.
After another awful scene the hero asks her for divorce, and actually sends her the paper to sign.
The heroine is appalled but signs the paper and disappears.
She's pregnant but she refuses to tell him because she doesn't want to stay in a forced marriage.
So, none of them is a prize here.
Five years later they meet accidentally, and he finds out he has a 4 year old son.
He's furious and threatens the heroine the usual way, she may stay with him or she may go- but without their son.
Then the nice man reveals they are not divorced, because he only meant to give her time to think that her behaviour was irrational but when he tried to find her she was already gone.
He tried everywhere but she was nowhere to be found.
We also get to know that the hero is a former playboy but after his marriage his ways were really changed. So we understand that the heroine's jealousy was not completely unfounded. Maybe she was immature and childish, but the man didn't do much for her. Trust is something that requires time and efforts to grow up, while this idiot man expected she trusted him implicitly.
We will see that the same is not applied to her.
In fact the hero takes the heroine and her son to his property where she will live with an evil grandmother, his father, a good man, and an awful ow who deserved to be skinned alive.
Wiithout anesthesia.
This woman is the hero's step sister who has been trying to grab the idiot man for years and since she hasn't succeeded she now lives near the hero side by side.
She's always there and the hero obviously cares for her more than for the heroine because he's always berating the heroine and complaining with her for her behaviour, believing all the lies ow tells him.
This ow is conniving with his grandmother, and they do their best to separate the couple.
The most hilarious moment is when the hero and the heroine are in an intimate moment and the granmother's companion knocks at their bedroom's door.
Of course the heroine is furious but the idiot hero stops the lurving moment and the heroine tells him that if he goes he may well not bother to come back.
This was not well done on her part, because the hero is angry and frustrated and his wife's refusal makes him angrier.
Apparently the idiot heroine hasn't yet learnt that one of the most powerful weapons at her disposal is the hero's strong attraction to her.
Since he was too stupid to understand he was being manipulated both by ow and by his grandma, he should have been manipulated also by the heroine with the only means she possessed: sex.
I know it's not very nice or fair, but since the man is worth very little and the people around him are really the most evil and unfair you can find in hp, I am really sure that the heroine would have had a better chance if she played the sex card, but she refuses and sulks for all the book.
She's really a doormat and she lets ow persuade her that she will be soon sent away without her son.
OW's father, a charming man who was also one of the hero's mother's husbands, tries to charme the heroine who, stupid that she is, instead of being careful, goes out with him so her husband is angry and furious. And jealous.
Basically there's a twist at a certain point where the heroine's bff talks to the hero and lets him know the heroine's true feelings so eventually they talk and all is well, because he always loved her while he pitied ow, whom he saw as a lil sister, all is well but not for meeeeeee.
Nope, the hero is an idiot and a stupid man, he lets other people manipulate him the same way the heroine had before they separated, and the heroine is really stupid and has no brains and no self esteem.
For me this book is not good, too much evil ow and the hero was awful until the last page, abusing the heroine both physically and emotionally.
That it, the perfect couple.
They marry young, she's a very insecure creature and lets her bff manipulate her and persuade her that her husband is cheating on her.
So she becomes obsessive and makes the life of the hero impossible.
After another awful scene the hero asks her for divorce, and actually sends her the paper to sign.
The heroine is appalled but signs the paper and disappears.
She's pregnant but she refuses to tell him because she doesn't want to stay in a forced marriage.
So, none of them is a prize here.
Five years later they meet accidentally, and he finds out he has a 4 year old son.
He's furious and threatens the heroine the usual way, she may stay with him or she may go- but without their son.
Then the nice man reveals they are not divorced, because he only meant to give her time to think that her behaviour was irrational but when he tried to find her she was already gone.
He tried everywhere but she was nowhere to be found.
We also get to know that the hero is a former playboy but after his marriage his ways were really changed. So we understand that the heroine's jealousy was not completely unfounded. Maybe she was immature and childish, but the man didn't do much for her. Trust is something that requires time and efforts to grow up, while this idiot man expected she trusted him implicitly.
We will see that the same is not applied to her.
In fact the hero takes the heroine and her son to his property where she will live with an evil grandmother, his father, a good man, and an awful ow who deserved to be skinned alive.
Wiithout anesthesia.
This woman is the hero's step sister who has been trying to grab the idiot man for years and since she hasn't succeeded she now lives near the hero side by side.
She's always there and the hero obviously cares for her more than for the heroine because he's always berating the heroine and complaining with her for her behaviour, believing all the lies ow tells him.
This ow is conniving with his grandmother, and they do their best to separate the couple.
The most hilarious moment is when the hero and the heroine are in an intimate moment and the granmother's companion knocks at their bedroom's door.
Of course the heroine is furious but the idiot hero stops the lurving moment and the heroine tells him that if he goes he may well not bother to come back.
This was not well done on her part, because the hero is angry and frustrated and his wife's refusal makes him angrier.
Apparently the idiot heroine hasn't yet learnt that one of the most powerful weapons at her disposal is the hero's strong attraction to her.
Since he was too stupid to understand he was being manipulated both by ow and by his grandma, he should have been manipulated also by the heroine with the only means she possessed: sex.
I know it's not very nice or fair, but since the man is worth very little and the people around him are really the most evil and unfair you can find in hp, I am really sure that the heroine would have had a better chance if she played the sex card, but she refuses and sulks for all the book.
She's really a doormat and she lets ow persuade her that she will be soon sent away without her son.
OW's father, a charming man who was also one of the hero's mother's husbands, tries to charme the heroine who, stupid that she is, instead of being careful, goes out with him so her husband is angry and furious. And jealous.
Basically there's a twist at a certain point where the heroine's bff talks to the hero and lets him know the heroine's true feelings so eventually they talk and all is well, because he always loved her while he pitied ow, whom he saw as a lil sister, all is well but not for meeeeeee.
Nope, the hero is an idiot and a stupid man, he lets other people manipulate him the same way the heroine had before they separated, and the heroine is really stupid and has no brains and no self esteem.
For me this book is not good, too much evil ow and the hero was awful until the last page, abusing the heroine both physically and emotionally.
August 23, 2015
HORRIBLE! The hero was the biggest abusive asshat in all the land and the heroine was retarded and meek and grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Want to read
August 23, 2015EVERY. SINGLE. REVIEW about this book is HORRID. *giggling with glee*
December 29, 2023
It’s probably closer to 2.5 stars. I love a cruel hero but this hero didn’t have quite enough balance to him. And being such a dunce about OW was very frustrating. He sees and hears with his own eyeballs and eardrums his stepsister being viciously cruel to the h while flirting outrageously with him and for some reason blames the h and gaslights her. 😵💫 It’s bizarre. I’d understand if the OW was sweetness and light in his presence but that’s just not the situation. And this isn’t the first time either. Apparently, 4 years previous, before the h ran, there was ANOTHER OW who did basically the same thing to the h, and the hero knew about and again blamed the h. I found myself skimming through all his OW idiocy scenes, because I just couldn’t handle all the willful ignorance and gaslighting. The only reason this isn’t a 2-star is that we do get an on-page OW/hero confrontation where the H puts her in her place and basically humiliates her in front of a room full of people. And I love that the hero had planned to remove himself and the h from the whole sh*t-tastic toxic living arrangements. AND, I did love all the angst and throwback manhandling and jealousy. 😈 So… maybe 2.75??
March 10, 2016
I didn't read this book but was curious as to why it had low reviews. This remark made by the heroine to the Hero is a big HELL TO THE EFFIING NO!!!
"You win, Sacha," she murmured huskily. "I love you. Please don't put me out of your life. I want to live with you on any terms. I'll even share you with Claire if I have to.”
Woman where's your spine!!!
"You win, Sacha," she murmured huskily. "I love you. Please don't put me out of your life. I want to live with you on any terms. I'll even share you with Claire if I have to.”
Woman where's your spine!!!
September 15, 2014
TDTL (Too Dumb To Live)
------------------------
A heroína é uma mosca morta e o herói é um bruto egoísta e manipulador. Ele é bem violento e agressivo com ela que é um verdadeiro capacho.
E ele ainda trai a heroína em vários níveis porque ele sempre coloca outras pessoas na frente dela.
Não recomendo!
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The heroine is a dead fly and the hero is a selfish brute and manipulative. He is very violent and aggressive with her. She is a true doormat.
And he still cheats on heroin at various levels because he always put other people in front of her.
Do not recommend!
------------------------
A heroína é uma mosca morta e o herói é um bruto egoísta e manipulador. Ele é bem violento e agressivo com ela que é um verdadeiro capacho.
E ele ainda trai a heroína em vários níveis porque ele sempre coloca outras pessoas na frente dela.
Não recomendo!
-------------------
The heroine is a dead fly and the hero is a selfish brute and manipulative. He is very violent and aggressive with her. She is a true doormat.
And he still cheats on heroin at various levels because he always put other people in front of her.
Do not recommend!
September 18, 2012
Okay so this might have been a contemporary romance in the day, but the guy in here was a piece of work. He was super mean and told his "wife" to shut up several times, plus was an ass in many more ways. Oh, and of course she couldn't resist him no matter how big of a dick he was. grrrr
November 19, 2014
I reread this old favourite for the first time in over 15 years. It is certainly filled with WTFery.
January 28, 2014
The H is an abusive jerk and the heroine is spineless and tstl. Throw in the evil ow and an aging wanabe romeo, you have the love story from hell! This is a bad, bad book.......
Read
September 14, 2015I abandoned this cause the author's writing is boring and cause the hero is a painter and i just can't read a Harlequin with an artist hero it feels wrong lol
November 30, 2016
He is a real jerk and mind you not a romantic way. The love he finally revealed in the last two pages is not convincing at all. She, on the other hand is a spineless idiot. Who could love her?
August 30, 2017
It wasn't all that bad. Cept for the part where she says she would share him with Claire. lol... EW.
I've read worse lol.. or worse.. boring .... I'd rather read a WTF romance than a boring one. haha...
I've read worse lol.. or worse.. boring .... I'd rather read a WTF romance than a boring one. haha...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2018
It's very 80's in all my favorite ways, but Sacha is like, actually abusive. He calls Katie stupid, or a bitch, or a nitwit or some combination thereof many, many times. At one point, he slaps her in the face to stop an "hysterical" reaction. I mean, is Katie immature and insecure? 100%. But she is also being gaslighted by half of the speaking characters. Does she deserve being called a stupid bitch multiple times by the man who "loves" her? Nope.
In all honesty, I probably would have given this 3 stars anyway, if not for the slapping.
In all honesty, I probably would have given this 3 stars anyway, if not for the slapping.
November 7, 2022
Despite the character flaws in both MLs, I enjoyed this book. The story contains the classic example of the the doormat h paired with an alpha cruel Hero and the continual interference of evil ow and om. Lots of drama and some backstory made it an interesting ride. My first read where the H is half Hawain and all action occurs in Hawaii..I liked it.
August 30, 2025
Second time: I came across this in a list of earlier romances and didn’t check Goodreads. This is bad. H is a gullible creep and h is so immature.
Original: So disappointed in this 2nd chance pseudo-romance. He's a jerk, thoughtless, physically and emotionally cruel, intolerant and gullible when it comes to the wanna-be OW. She alternates between mature acceptance/rise-above-it-ness, hurt and unwillingness to even try and correct her husband's beliefs.
The story could have been so much better and this author has written books that are immeasurable better than this one.
The basic requirement in a love story is that we have to believe in the emotions and the romance. And it's almost impossible to believe in this one. Example: Grandma has consistently not wanted anything to do with heroine, has lied and connived with OW to present her as spiteful, mean, juvenile. Suddenly at the end Grandma is on heroine's side? The only things that could justify this turnaround is OW got angry and said she wasn't going to waste her time on the kid - Grandma's great-grandson - if hero wasn't there. And secondly Grandma could see how terrified heroine was when her son was inadvertantly kidnapped. But overall such a complete change is a bit hard to sell with the plot as given.
Original: So disappointed in this 2nd chance pseudo-romance. He's a jerk, thoughtless, physically and emotionally cruel, intolerant and gullible when it comes to the wanna-be OW. She alternates between mature acceptance/rise-above-it-ness, hurt and unwillingness to even try and correct her husband's beliefs.
The story could have been so much better and this author has written books that are immeasurable better than this one.
The basic requirement in a love story is that we have to believe in the emotions and the romance. And it's almost impossible to believe in this one. Example: Grandma has consistently not wanted anything to do with heroine, has lied and connived with OW to present her as spiteful, mean, juvenile. Suddenly at the end Grandma is on heroine's side? The only things that could justify this turnaround is OW got angry and said she wasn't going to waste her time on the kid - Grandma's great-grandson - if hero wasn't there. And secondly Grandma could see how terrified heroine was when her son was inadvertantly kidnapped. But overall such a complete change is a bit hard to sell with the plot as given.
October 26, 2015
One of my early reads. I liked the story wish I could re read this one. I just remember liking the story so much.
December 12, 2024
Mother of trainwreck
August 9, 2025
There was too much misunderstanding, crummy treatment, and all-around stupidity. Both the H and h were stupid. He let his anger toward his weak, waffling mother (she dumped his dad for another man, that relationship failed so on to the next disaster, etc.), who broke his father's heart (for a while, anyway) influence his marriage to the h, and his artistic temperament didn't help. She foolishly chooses to believe a (who needs enemies) friend that the H is cheating, he gets angry and tells her their marriage is over. She manages to disappear successfully for five years, never letting the H know she had his son.
Does it make sense that the h, who claims to never want to see the H again, would go check out the art gallery where he has a show, and bring along the son she wants to keep from him? Hell no, but that's what she does, foolishly assuming he won't be there, or if he is, he won't notice either her or the kid. WRONG!!! It sure doesn't help that the boy's the image of the H as a child, resulting in him yelling and calling her a bitch in front of their son, whom he managed to charm, regardless. Next thing you know, she's informed that their divorce was never finalized, he wants his son and if she doesn't agree to come back to him to give him a proper home, he'll use his money/power to take him away from her for good. Revenge is bittersweet!
So, she hands over her gift shop business to her friend/neighbor/part-time help, and moves into the H's family home, where she's treated crummy by the H's grandmother, an "invalid", who has everyone dancing to her matriarchal tune. His father is a good man and treats the h well, but that can't make up for the limbo marriage that's neither real nor phony, as she still loves him, doesn't believe he cares for her, and she doesn't want sex without love. She also feels like she's being shut out of her son's life as the H wants to make up for lost time, even if that means the h gets neglected a bit.
More stupidity abounds. He feels sorry for his horrible bitch of a stepsister (ex-stepsister, actually, as his mother divorced her father) and won't see her for the piece of crap she really is. The h knows the H's former stepdad is an old lech, yet she depends on him when she needs a friend, despite his making it clear he wants her for his next wife and encouraging her to end what he knows is an unhappy marriage. The father-in-law resents him for "stealing" his wife, but soon accepts that she was emotionally fickle, and he wasn't entirely to blame. She, too, makes an appearance, repenting all her mistakes and wanting to make thing better between her and the H.
The story gets a bit too convoluted, with silly stuff like Grandma pretending to have an attack to prevent the H and h from having a romantic evening, messing up their attempt to make love, and later, when the H admits the h was probably right and she was faking, she's no longer in the mood, he gets angry, etc. They go on like this way too long, and when they finally do make love, it's after a ridiculous argument where the semi-doormat h suddenly likes like a brat in a temper, so it takes all romance out of the scene and makes it a lust interval instead.
Given all this, the HEA is difficult to credit. So is the entire book, with the only thing worthwhile being the Hawaiian background, but not enough was made out of that.
This can be skipped without a problem.
Does it make sense that the h, who claims to never want to see the H again, would go check out the art gallery where he has a show, and bring along the son she wants to keep from him? Hell no, but that's what she does, foolishly assuming he won't be there, or if he is, he won't notice either her or the kid. WRONG!!! It sure doesn't help that the boy's the image of the H as a child, resulting in him yelling and calling her a bitch in front of their son, whom he managed to charm, regardless. Next thing you know, she's informed that their divorce was never finalized, he wants his son and if she doesn't agree to come back to him to give him a proper home, he'll use his money/power to take him away from her for good. Revenge is bittersweet!
So, she hands over her gift shop business to her friend/neighbor/part-time help, and moves into the H's family home, where she's treated crummy by the H's grandmother, an "invalid", who has everyone dancing to her matriarchal tune. His father is a good man and treats the h well, but that can't make up for the limbo marriage that's neither real nor phony, as she still loves him, doesn't believe he cares for her, and she doesn't want sex without love. She also feels like she's being shut out of her son's life as the H wants to make up for lost time, even if that means the h gets neglected a bit.
More stupidity abounds. He feels sorry for his horrible bitch of a stepsister (ex-stepsister, actually, as his mother divorced her father) and won't see her for the piece of crap she really is. The h knows the H's former stepdad is an old lech, yet she depends on him when she needs a friend, despite his making it clear he wants her for his next wife and encouraging her to end what he knows is an unhappy marriage. The father-in-law resents him for "stealing" his wife, but soon accepts that she was emotionally fickle, and he wasn't entirely to blame. She, too, makes an appearance, repenting all her mistakes and wanting to make thing better between her and the H.
The story gets a bit too convoluted, with silly stuff like Grandma pretending to have an attack to prevent the H and h from having a romantic evening, messing up their attempt to make love, and later, when the H admits the h was probably right and she was faking, she's no longer in the mood, he gets angry, etc. They go on like this way too long, and when they finally do make love, it's after a ridiculous argument where the semi-doormat h suddenly likes like a brat in a temper, so it takes all romance out of the scene and makes it a lust interval instead.
Given all this, the HEA is difficult to credit. So is the entire book, with the only thing worthwhile being the Hawaiian background, but not enough was made out of that.
This can be skipped without a problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2016
The hero is one of the most cruel heroes in harlequinlandia.
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