What do you think?
Rate this book
His Woman
APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING... — Naylor Massingham didn't approve of Leith - he thought she was a gold digger. And he certainly didn't approve of his cousin's involvement with her. He was determined to put an end to their affair, even though it meant forcing Leith into a pretend engagement. — Leigh could have stopped matters, but it would have meant betraying her friend's trust. And, anyway, she was looking forward to hearing Naylor eat his words when he discovered the truth of the situation.
But the longer the charade continued, the more Leith realized that far from hating her new fiance, she was actually falling in love with him..
But the longer the charade continued, the more Leith realized that far from hating her new fiance, she was actually falling in love with him..
187 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Steele
339 books113 followersJessica Steele was born on May 9, 1933 in the elegant Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa. She has two super brothers, Colin and George, and a lovely sister, Elizabeth. She was a delicate child and missed a lot of school. In fact, she left school at aged 14, when she was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. At 16, she started work as a junior clerk. In 1967, Jessica married with her husband, Peter and within a very short space of time they had moved from her hometown to the lovely area where they now live. Their house is built into the side of a hill, and has beautiful views over more hills and valleys. Her brothers and her sister are very close and she has plenty of nephews and nieces to make up for the fact that she and her husband have no children of their own. Both she and her husband are more than a little dog-oriented, and their current dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier named Florence. Florence is gorgeous. She loves everybody but, since she is 40 pounds of dynamite and would hurl her boisterous self at everyone she meets - given half a chance - she has to be restrained (as much as possible). She is fun.
Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (the rejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work for her. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session. A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background for her books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.
Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (the rejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work for her. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session. A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background for her books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 8, 2020
I just got my hands on dozens of Steeles so look out everyone.
Which is to say, no one pays any attention to my GRs and it's probably for the best.
This was definitely a Greater in the Greater/Lesser tradition of old skools and for Steele. Chapters of clanging and sizzle and then a full final chapter of groveling and revelations and making up to grab that HEA.
The hero is so darn obviously jealous through so much of it, and rather than being off-putting, it's delicious. Jealous and besotted and grumpy about it. The heroine is plucky and smart and gives what she gets (part of what charms the hero), even while she's imperfect enough to make mistakes that lead to misunderstandings that lead to that clanging and sizzle.
The big talk reveal where they confess their love is given a lot of space. It's great. Also great is how gentle Steele's heroes often get when they can finally lower their defenses and are also content because the girl who's been driving them crazy (with want & uncertainty) is finally theirs--this hero especially such. And the heroine pushes to have important things explained while sticking up for her own choices. How dreamy.
A good one.
Which is to say, no one pays any attention to my GRs and it's probably for the best.
This was definitely a Greater in the Greater/Lesser tradition of old skools and for Steele. Chapters of clanging and sizzle and then a full final chapter of groveling and revelations and making up to grab that HEA.
The hero is so darn obviously jealous through so much of it, and rather than being off-putting, it's delicious. Jealous and besotted and grumpy about it. The heroine is plucky and smart and gives what she gets (part of what charms the hero), even while she's imperfect enough to make mistakes that lead to misunderstandings that lead to that clanging and sizzle.
The big talk reveal where they confess their love is given a lot of space. It's great. Also great is how gentle Steele's heroes often get when they can finally lower their defenses and are also content because the girl who's been driving them crazy (with want & uncertainty) is finally theirs--this hero especially such. And the heroine pushes to have important things explained while sticking up for her own choices. How dreamy.
A good one.
September 5, 2021
What we have here is another relative H thinking that the h has to be a gold digger, so it is up to him to save everyone from her. In this case he is “saving”his younger cousin.
The h Leith and her slightly irresponsible brother get a place together in the big city. Next door lives a girl from the old neighborhood. Her husband has left her and wants a divorce, but her family will not tolerate that, so divorce is not an option. However, at one of the h’s parties she meets the H’s cousin. They fall in love, but the neighbor keeps pushing him away. Travis the cousin, spends a lot of time hanging out at the h’s and her brother’s apartment to be near the next door neighbor. He also uses Leith as his sounding board.
Meanwhile, the very attractive Leith has issues of her own. Sexual harassment at her work place has made her lose her job. Her friend tells her she needs to down play her looks for the next job, so she dons some big glasses, boxy suits, and pulls her hair tight. She also gets the reputation as an ice cycle. On top of this, her brother decides to run off to India to take photos, leaving her with the horrendous payments of the flat they bought. Her new job is also being threatened, as it has been bought out by another company.
One night Travis shows up drunk as a skunk, and telling the h all about his unrequited love for the neighbor. She has him sleep it off in her brother’s bed and then there is knocking at the door. Enter the hero Naylor. Naylor has come to fetch his cousin and address the girl who has his cousin off the rails. He is abrasive and bossy. He insinuates that there is no way she could afford a place like that and so obviously she gets extra income from her relationships. The next day she goes to work, and guess who her new boss is?
The rest of the story has the H believing the h is his cousin’s girlfriend(he doesn’t want anyone to know about the real love). So he piles work on her. He soon discovers she is hiding behind the ugly clothing and guesses why. Our H is very jealous of the cousin, and when he thinks that the cousin is still in “love” with her, he enters a fake engagement with her. She goes along with all of this, becasue she wants to help her neighbor and Travis with their relationship. The H also saw evidence of another man at her flat(her brother’s stuff) and thinks she has multiple men on the line. Of course somewhere along the line the h falls in love with the hero, and he has basically been in love shortly after day 1.
In true JS fashion, we have a very “close but no cigar” sexual interlude, which gets interrupted. We have the h turn in her notice at work, and we have about 20+ pages at the end clearing up any misconceptions, but mainly having the H grovel for the h’s love.
I thought this was one of JS’s better reads. I have read a lot of hers lately and although some are turned off by the 20 pages of explanations, I actually enjoy them since we don’t get the H’s POV during the story.
The h Leith and her slightly irresponsible brother get a place together in the big city. Next door lives a girl from the old neighborhood. Her husband has left her and wants a divorce, but her family will not tolerate that, so divorce is not an option. However, at one of the h’s parties she meets the H’s cousin. They fall in love, but the neighbor keeps pushing him away. Travis the cousin, spends a lot of time hanging out at the h’s and her brother’s apartment to be near the next door neighbor. He also uses Leith as his sounding board.
Meanwhile, the very attractive Leith has issues of her own. Sexual harassment at her work place has made her lose her job. Her friend tells her she needs to down play her looks for the next job, so she dons some big glasses, boxy suits, and pulls her hair tight. She also gets the reputation as an ice cycle. On top of this, her brother decides to run off to India to take photos, leaving her with the horrendous payments of the flat they bought. Her new job is also being threatened, as it has been bought out by another company.
One night Travis shows up drunk as a skunk, and telling the h all about his unrequited love for the neighbor. She has him sleep it off in her brother’s bed and then there is knocking at the door. Enter the hero Naylor. Naylor has come to fetch his cousin and address the girl who has his cousin off the rails. He is abrasive and bossy. He insinuates that there is no way she could afford a place like that and so obviously she gets extra income from her relationships. The next day she goes to work, and guess who her new boss is?
The rest of the story has the H believing the h is his cousin’s girlfriend(he doesn’t want anyone to know about the real love). So he piles work on her. He soon discovers she is hiding behind the ugly clothing and guesses why. Our H is very jealous of the cousin, and when he thinks that the cousin is still in “love” with her, he enters a fake engagement with her. She goes along with all of this, becasue she wants to help her neighbor and Travis with their relationship. The H also saw evidence of another man at her flat(her brother’s stuff) and thinks she has multiple men on the line. Of course somewhere along the line the h falls in love with the hero, and he has basically been in love shortly after day 1.
In true JS fashion, we have a very “close but no cigar” sexual interlude, which gets interrupted. We have the h turn in her notice at work, and we have about 20+ pages at the end clearing up any misconceptions, but mainly having the H grovel for the h’s love.
I thought this was one of JS’s better reads. I have read a lot of hers lately and although some are turned off by the 20 pages of explanations, I actually enjoy them since we don’t get the H’s POV during the story.
November 4, 2025
"A jednak miłość"
November 20, 2014
I liked that the heroine had a smart mouth when it came to the hero. She was in a situation where she had to put up with his bullshit, but she wasn't going to do it with a smile (at least not a genuine one).
What is it, like 50% of all Harlequin books where the hero thinks the hero is a raging whore? Which causes him to act like a complete jackass.
I like that in the end the hero says something like, "I don't know why you love me, but I'll take it." 'Cause, seriously, what is wrong with these heroines? He treats you like dirt and you fall in love with him?
What is it, like 50% of all Harlequin books where the hero thinks the hero is a raging whore? Which causes him to act like a complete jackass.
I like that in the end the hero says something like, "I don't know why you love me, but I'll take it." 'Cause, seriously, what is wrong with these heroines? He treats you like dirt and you fall in love with him?
March 28, 2014
1,5 stars.
This book was so boring I don't know how I did resist till the end. =w=
And the hero... ugh, so despicable.
This book was so boring I don't know how I did resist till the end. =w=
And the hero... ugh, so despicable.
June 24, 2019
A Naylor Massingham no le agradó que su primo estuviera mezclado con Leith, a la que consideraba mujer de poca reputación y estaba decidido a poner fin a esa relación, aun si eso significaba obligar a Leith a aceptar un compromiso ficticio para que su primo se alejara de ella y aunque Leith habría podido evitar que las cosas llegaran tan lejos, no podía traicionar la confianza que sus amigos depositaron en ella, por lo que, Naylor tendría que tragarse todos sus insultos cuando descubriera la verdad… Sin embargo, cuanto más duraba la farsa, más se daba cuenta ella de que, lejos de odiar a su "prometido", estaba en peligro de enamorarse perdidamente de él, pero ¿Naylon la perdonaría por ocultarle información y podrían tener una oportunidad? Me ha encantado esta historia, me encantan los compromisos arreglados que terminan en romance y ¡este no es la excepción!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2024
I honestly can't decide whether to give this three or four stars.
by Page 60 I was of the opinion that 🤦🤦🤦 this girl is beyond TSTL. She lets our Hero think she's got at least two men on the go - one of them being his own cousin.
Meanwhile she lets the cousin and his real girlfriend treat her like a doormat instead of telling them to sort their lives out and doesn't tell the truth until our H works it out for himself.
By Page 160 I'd got over this and decided I quite like this book after all but my goodness I was born in the 1950s and Rosemary is so unbelievable for the early 90s . She and her parents act like it's the 1790s.
If you can deal with those elements, you might quite like it.
by Page 60 I was of the opinion that 🤦🤦🤦 this girl is beyond TSTL. She lets our Hero think she's got at least two men on the go - one of them being his own cousin.
Meanwhile she lets the cousin and his real girlfriend treat her like a doormat instead of telling them to sort their lives out and doesn't tell the truth until our H works it out for himself.
By Page 160 I'd got over this and decided I quite like this book after all but my goodness I was born in the 1950s and Rosemary is so unbelievable for the early 90s . She and her parents act like it's the 1790s.
If you can deal with those elements, you might quite like it.
August 12, 2025
Keeping a secret is more important than keeping a job, paying a mortgage or putting up with endless golddigger insults from the hero. But keeping the hero's cousin's stupid secret about his love for a married woman is the only thing holding up this fake engagement plot - so heroine stays mum.
One thing about Jessica Steele, she always has the H/h hash out all the problems of their courtship and how long that post-mortum takes is a good indication of how convoluted the plot. This one went on for pages and pages.
Still H/h are together. Stupid cousin with his married woman are going public. And heroine's brother is still in India, not sending money for the mortgage.
A true HEA. /s
One thing about Jessica Steele, she always has the H/h hash out all the problems of their courtship and how long that post-mortum takes is a good indication of how convoluted the plot. This one went on for pages and pages.
Still H/h are together. Stupid cousin with his married woman are going public. And heroine's brother is still in India, not sending money for the mortgage.
A true HEA. /s
January 24, 2022
2,5 stars maybe?
A new girl in town plays Cupid for a couple of new-found friends when she’s accused of gold-digging.
Leith is taking care of drunk Travis when she’s confronted by his older cousin Naylor. Naylor believes she’s the avaricious girl who’s taken the younger boy for a ride. The plot thickens when Leith finds out Naylor is her new boss.
Naylor is horrible to her. But Leith goes with it because she needs her job, she’s promised Travis her silence and Naylor’s kisses are addictive.
A new girl in town plays Cupid for a couple of new-found friends when she’s accused of gold-digging.
Leith is taking care of drunk Travis when she’s confronted by his older cousin Naylor. Naylor believes she’s the avaricious girl who’s taken the younger boy for a ride. The plot thickens when Leith finds out Naylor is her new boss.
Naylor is horrible to her. But Leith goes with it because she needs her job, she’s promised Travis her silence and Naylor’s kisses are addictive.
July 25, 2022
Low angst, fake relationship to prohibit a relationship with OM (cousin to H)who is in love with secret friend of h. The ending was anticlimactic and too long in the re-hashing reveal
September 29, 2023
1,75⭐️
Ten chłop to jeden wielki🚩🚩🚩
To było okej, ale nic więcej.
Ten chłop to jeden wielki🚩🚩🚩
To było okej, ale nic więcej.
August 2, 2022
APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING... — Naylor Massingham didn't approve of Leith - he thought she was a gold digger. And he certainly didn't approve of his cousin's involvement with her. He was determined to put an end to their affair, even though it meant forcing Leith into a pretend engagement. — Leigh could have stopped matters, but it would have meant betraying her friend's trust. And, anyway, she was looking forward to hearing Naylor eat his words when he discovered the truth of the situation.
But the longer the charade continued, the more Leith realized that far from hating her new fiance, she was actually falling in love with him.. (
But the longer the charade continued, the more Leith realized that far from hating her new fiance, she was actually falling in love with him.. (
December 23, 2017
فتاة الاحلام
عبير / دار النحاس
المظاهر تخدع أحياناً
لم يكن نايلور ماسينغام راضيا عن لايث ...
اعتقد أنها مثل الباحثين عن الذهب و بالتأكيد لم يكن راضيا عن تورط أبن خالته معهما . كان مصمماً على أن يضع نهاية لعلاقتهما . لو اضطره الأمر إلى أن يجبرها على اعلان خطوبة مزعومه .
و كان باستطاعة لايث التصدي لما يحدث ولكنها بذلك تكون قد خانت ثقة صديقتها بها . و على أي حال كانت تتوقع أن يبتلع تايلور ما قاله عندما يكتشف حقيقة الوضع . ولكن كلما استمرت هذه المسرحية كلما أدركت لايث أنه بدلاً من كرهها لخطيبها الجديد كانت بالفعل تقع في حبه...منتديات ليلاس
عبير / دار النحاس
المظاهر تخدع أحياناً
لم يكن نايلور ماسينغام راضيا عن لايث ...
اعتقد أنها مثل الباحثين عن الذهب و بالتأكيد لم يكن راضيا عن تورط أبن خالته معهما . كان مصمماً على أن يضع نهاية لعلاقتهما . لو اضطره الأمر إلى أن يجبرها على اعلان خطوبة مزعومه .
و كان باستطاعة لايث التصدي لما يحدث ولكنها بذلك تكون قد خانت ثقة صديقتها بها . و على أي حال كانت تتوقع أن يبتلع تايلور ما قاله عندما يكتشف حقيقة الوضع . ولكن كلما استمرت هذه المسرحية كلما أدركت لايث أنه بدلاً من كرهها لخطيبها الجديد كانت بالفعل تقع في حبه...منتديات ليلاس
April 10, 2025
On a re-read I am upping this to 5 stars. The hero (36) is quite magnetic, dominant, forthright and very jealous. The heroine (22) is sassy, sweet, determined and feisty in places. There's real chemistry and a great dynamic between them.
Very enjoyable.
Very enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews