Șansa dragostei

by Ann Cooper, Barbara York (False Author)

O poveste de dragoste plina de pasiune o poarta pe Laura Grant, studenta la Paris, intr-o casatorie surprinzatoare, cu bancherul Karl Rivenbeck, un barbat extrem de atractiv si de bogat, asa cum avea sa constate Laura, cu putin timp inaintea cununiei. Totul parea sa fie minunat, dar cand Karl o duse la vila luxoasa din Italia, Laura descopera cu stupoare ca nu se poate adapta stilului de viata impus de lumea in care traia el. De asemenea, prezenta fostei sale amante, voluptoasa Eleonora Ferrara, este pentru ea o alta piatra de incercare

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Romance

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1983

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The H simply puts the h through too much. There's poison in the well, and I don't care how happy she is at the end of the book, there's more misery in store for her. Don't even get me started on his relationship with the OW.

I'm going in for the healing epilogue. It's hard because it's complicated.

After her new husband's mistress of 10-years, with whom he is continuing to have an affair (the OW), arranges it to make sure that the H thinks the h is having an affair with the OW's brother, there is a confrontation at the H's private island. The H believes the OW, of course.

Rather than protest her innocence, the h drugs the dinner, waits until everyone is asleep, cuts all the phone lines, takes everything of value that isn't nailed down, and persuades the H's staffers, who have been becoming increasingly ill because of the poor working conditions, to come with her. They take her back to the mainland in their boat. She tells them that she will take care of them financially and provide them with a reference and a new house with her inheritance. The staffers believe her, and they write off her use of "inheritance" instead of "divorce settlement" as an error in word choice by the h, who is still learning Italian. She then sends them off on a round-the-world cruise, which will last three months, and disappears from their lives. They are devoted to her even more than ever after that.

When the staffers return, they learn that the H, the OW, and the OM have been missing for months and weren't seen again after that night. Investigators eventually found all three of them dead of starvation -- apparently they were unable to reach the island because all of the boats were destroyed (the authorities figure it happened during a storm) and they didn't have access to the phone lines. Normally someone would have investigated, but somehow the island mistakenly got classified as a 6-month quarantine area due to the presence of a highly communicable airborne strain of chlamydia. It was only a few weeks before the staffers returned that the authorities realized that there had been an error. Unfortunately, when they arrived, all three of the island's inhabitants were dead, and there were signs of cannibalism. To cover up the stigma of cannibalism, the authorities simply put "Fatal chlamydia" on the death certificates, which were then published in the town paper according to local customs. The major news outlets across the globe somehow get hold of it, and the names of the H, OW and OM are now permanently linked to a lethal STD.

The h, who is living in an undisclosed location, donates the island to an institute that teaches women how to heal after emotionally abusive relationships, and how to avoid them in the future. It becomes a place of positive transformation.

The h decides to stay away from love and romance for a while so she can focus on her art. This lasts for several years, until she is at a spiritual retreat for fellow celibates and meets a surprisingly brawny man she assumes is an exceptionally well-favored yoga instructor. In reality, he is the extremely wealthy owner of this retreat as well as more luxurious hotels and spas around the world. He is also a practicing celibate after his first marriage ended tragically when he realized that his wife was just using him for his good looks, wealth and flexibility. When he meets the h, he is drawn to her sweet personality and creativity, and is intrigued by the slight hint of flinty ruthlessness he sees when she talks about her brief marriage. However, she will only say truthfully that she barely remembers any of it.

They fall in love, renounce their celibacy, and get married after a courtship where they have adequate time to get to know each other and make sure that they aren't making another mistake. Since they have renounced their celibacy already, that takes some of the edge off of waiting.

I feel better.

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hero thinks his mistress of ten years and his brand new young bride are going to get along JUST FINE as he traipses around Europe looking after his firm’s interests. The heroine lets the mistress, her brother, and her own piece of garbage stepmother run roughshod over her because she thinks she’s a little nobody who deserves it. *sigh* There aren’t enough toilet seats in the world to bang some sense into these people... Pathetic!

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to give props to the villain in this novel. She suggests certain things that make the heroine believe they are true. It doesn't matter about rust, the hero should of explained the truth to his wife. What man in his right mind would bring his mistress around his soon to be wife/wife. It's totally beyond me. The hero needed a swift kick in the nuts. I liked the heroine she was brave but at times so difficult, gullible and stupid. All together is was a good novel.