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The Rich List #2
Love Hate
Roses are red, violets are blue. Don't fall in love, whatever you do...
They were dating – or so she thought – but then he callously dumped her and fled the country…one day later, she found out she was pregnant!
She’s hated him ever since. If he didn’t want her, he won’t want their baby…
But she’s wrong.
The minute billionaire Grayson Fortescue learns of the child they made together, he vows to reform, hanging up his bachelor shoes to become a family man.
He knows enough about damaged childhoods to be adamant that he wants to give his daughter the best…
but the one thing he’ll never give up is his heart.
It’s the reason he left her in the first place, and baby or no baby, he’s not stupid enough to ever let the chunk of ice in his chest thaw. Even for Abby.
Full of angst, drama, passion and hope, you're going to love Abby and Gray's story.
Gray Fortescue is a serious alpha hero... with a heart of gold, of course! He's a guy who knows exactly what he wants and will stop at nothing to achieve it. LOVE HATE is a super-sexy, second-chance, secret-baby book with characters you'll fall in love with, heart-racing love scenes and one or two swears. You have been warned!
Book two in THE RICH LIST is coming soon! Fall in love with Gray Fortescue, billionaire tycoon, in this secret baby, reunion romance.
They were dating – or so she thought – but then he callously dumped her and fled the country…one day later, she found out she was pregnant!
She’s hated him ever since. If he didn’t want her, he won’t want their baby…
But she’s wrong.
The minute billionaire Grayson Fortescue learns of the child they made together, he vows to reform, hanging up his bachelor shoes to become a family man.
He knows enough about damaged childhoods to be adamant that he wants to give his daughter the best…
but the one thing he’ll never give up is his heart.
It’s the reason he left her in the first place, and baby or no baby, he’s not stupid enough to ever let the chunk of ice in his chest thaw. Even for Abby.
Full of angst, drama, passion and hope, you're going to love Abby and Gray's story.
Gray Fortescue is a serious alpha hero... with a heart of gold, of course! He's a guy who knows exactly what he wants and will stop at nothing to achieve it. LOVE HATE is a super-sexy, second-chance, secret-baby book with characters you'll fall in love with, heart-racing love scenes and one or two swears. You have been warned!
Book two in THE RICH LIST is coming soon! Fall in love with Gray Fortescue, billionaire tycoon, in this secret baby, reunion romance.
- GenresRomanceSecond Chance
361 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 24, 2021
83 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Clare Connelly
517 books405 followersFor all things Clare Connelly, please see www.clareconnelly.co.uk, the official home of Clare Connelly on the web.
Clare Connelly grew up in a small country town in Australia. Surrounded by rainforests, and rickety old timber houses, magic was thick in the air, and stories and storytelling were a huge part of her childhood.
From early on in life, Clare realised her favourite books were romance stories, and read voraciously. Anything from Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, to Mills & Boon and (more recently) 50 Shades, Clare is a romance devotee. She first turned her hand to penning a novel at fifteen (if memory serves, it was something about a glamorous fashion model who fell foul of a high-end designer. Sparks flew, clothes flew faster, and love was born.)
Clare has a small family and a bungalow near the sea. When she isn't chasing after energetic little toddlers, or wiping fingerprints off furniture, she's writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.
Clare Connelly grew up in a small country town in Australia. Surrounded by rainforests, and rickety old timber houses, magic was thick in the air, and stories and storytelling were a huge part of her childhood.
From early on in life, Clare realised her favourite books were romance stories, and read voraciously. Anything from Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, to Mills & Boon and (more recently) 50 Shades, Clare is a romance devotee. She first turned her hand to penning a novel at fifteen (if memory serves, it was something about a glamorous fashion model who fell foul of a high-end designer. Sparks flew, clothes flew faster, and love was born.)
Clare has a small family and a bungalow near the sea. When she isn't chasing after energetic little toddlers, or wiping fingerprints off furniture, she's writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 2, 2021
Typical Clare Connelly
So tired of the long separations and the heroes moving on with their lives and other women while the heroine is chaste. Yes she didn't tell him she was pregnant because he said it was just $ex and she meant nothing. And he didn't want kids. She even called him and he said I have moved on. Leave me alone. Even after the stupid alley scene, he was still saying we did it but let's keep it in the past. I really did not like him. And him saying that he had $ex to keep away the nightmares and then he gets angry thinking she had been with other men. So sick of it. I used to love this author but I am seriously tired of this plot. I read the second story in the book and it was exactly the sane. I had read it before and it still sucked. He was and incredible douche just like the first non-hero. I think I am just going to pass on this authors books. They reek of hypocrisy and definitely make women look like idiots for loving someone like that. And falling right back into bed with them even though they were totally dumped and broken hearted. This really should be a one so I am changing it. This left a bad taste in my brain.
So tired of the long separations and the heroes moving on with their lives and other women while the heroine is chaste. Yes she didn't tell him she was pregnant because he said it was just $ex and she meant nothing. And he didn't want kids. She even called him and he said I have moved on. Leave me alone. Even after the stupid alley scene, he was still saying we did it but let's keep it in the past. I really did not like him. And him saying that he had $ex to keep away the nightmares and then he gets angry thinking she had been with other men. So sick of it. I used to love this author but I am seriously tired of this plot. I read the second story in the book and it was exactly the sane. I had read it before and it still sucked. He was and incredible douche just like the first non-hero. I think I am just going to pass on this authors books. They reek of hypocrisy and definitely make women look like idiots for loving someone like that. And falling right back into bed with them even though they were totally dumped and broken hearted. This really should be a one so I am changing it. This left a bad taste in my brain.
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January 15, 2022Dnf.
The premises were all wrong for me.
- the hero and the heroine had a brief affair when she was on the rebound. He left her because he was bored. Not for misunderstandings, not for duty, not because he was scared of his feelings. In fact he thinks of his affair with her as meaningless sex. Great and romantic.
- she found out she was pregnant and she never told him. With no reason.
- he moved on and had many women after her, he never missed her, never looked for her
- she was celibate, sooooo here we are with our wonderful double standard.
-when they met again- accidentally-, two years later, she’s still smarting for the way he dumped her and she has exactly five minutes of sanity when she tells him to go to hell, but then she not only relents but also she jumps on him and f***s him( sorry for the word but it’s definitely appropriate) standing then and there. Just like that.
- after that, I quietly closed the book and dumped it in the trash bin.
Definitely not my thing.
CC is a hit or miss for me and this is the latter.
The premises were all wrong for me.
- the hero and the heroine had a brief affair when she was on the rebound. He left her because he was bored. Not for misunderstandings, not for duty, not because he was scared of his feelings. In fact he thinks of his affair with her as meaningless sex. Great and romantic.
- she found out she was pregnant and she never told him. With no reason.
- he moved on and had many women after her, he never missed her, never looked for her
- she was celibate, sooooo here we are with our wonderful double standard.
-when they met again- accidentally-, two years later, she’s still smarting for the way he dumped her and she has exactly five minutes of sanity when she tells him to go to hell, but then she not only relents but also she jumps on him and f***s him( sorry for the word but it’s definitely appropriate) standing then and there. Just like that.
- after that, I quietly closed the book and dumped it in the trash bin.
Definitely not my thing.
CC is a hit or miss for me and this is the latter.
August 29, 2021
I was so excited to read this baby. I usually love Clare Connelly stories and after reading the blurb to this one, I KNEW I'd love this one too.
I love an angsty story where the Hero dumps the heroine (who is desperately and madly in love with the Hero), moving on with his life to find new women to experience, while the heroine licks her wounds and tries to survive her devastating heartbreak, then soon after discovers she's been left pregnant too.
This story definitely started out strong with the dumping, then swiftly went downhill after that. When these two finally meet up again, Abby cannot help herself and she sluttily jumps on Gray's dick in an alleyway and has total unprotected sex with him (NOT learning her pregnancy lesson the first time around).
Abby (continuing to be a major bitch) never does tell Gray he's a father and he finds out all by himself that he's got a child out there that somebody forgot to tell him about when she got pregnant, and she continued to keep him in the dark even after they hooked up again. After he discovers his child, Gray is naturally pissed off, but he gets over it very quickly and tries to come up with a relationship with Abby that will allow them both to raise the child together. Abby immaturely and vindictively fights him all the way, wanting to keep him out of the loop, and telling him she's been doing this for him although she clearly knows that's not what he wants. The rest of the story is more annoying push and pull between these two. Gray forcing Abby to let him be a father, while Abby still butts heads with him and continues to refuse his weath or help to take care of her and their child. This got so old and annoying that I really started to hate Abby and her irrational hard headed actions
By the ending I didn't really care about the HEA between these two and I started to look forward to this story finally being overwith. I got my wish as the book ends at the 50% mark and a different story starts after that. Although I was happy to be over the Abby/Gray drama, ending a story at the 50% mark and starting a completely different story is a very lame thing for authors to do.
August 24, 2021
I was so disappointed in this book and I love most of Clare’s stories.
Sex in the alley — that’s not sexy or respectful to either of these characters— it wasn’t desperate need — it was total lack of respect for each other. I didn’t like either of these folks and was sorry the baby would be stuck with these two !
Sex in the alley — that’s not sexy or respectful to either of these characters— it wasn’t desperate need — it was total lack of respect for each other. I didn’t like either of these folks and was sorry the baby would be stuck with these two !
April 14, 2023
I usually love CC’s books. I’ve read dozens of them and some of my very favourite Romances have been written by Clare. Her recent Montebello series was mostly fabulous, and I was really ready to sink into this new one.
Sadly, I’m just not getting into this. The first book was okay but not as great as her usual creations. This one was also very disappointing.
Firstly, I hate stories where the woman has deliberately kept the father out of the loop - no matter how much she believed he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with the child. So I wasn’t too impressed with Abby from the beginning.
Then her response to him at the beginning - running away, insulting him and being generally a juvenile, and then her totally unheralded and inexplicable volte-face with the sex in the alley, just struck me as totally unbelievable in view of everything she thought about Gray.
Her behaviour and antipathy towards Gray seemed manufactured and inauthentic. She’s gone into the fling with Gray - eyes wide open (and although he was a jerk the way he’s ended it), she really wasn’t justified in her hatred/contempt of him for just enjoying the sex. He never promised her anything. There were times when she was so smug about her own motivations and so contemptuous of Gray’s that I just wanted him to walk away and leave her!
I just got so bored with her continuous ‘I’ll kiss him but we won’t have sex’ and ‘I don’t fit in’ baloney.
I disliked the attitude of the friend and her mother. Judgemental and unhelpful. I was horrified at her mother’s discourtesy after lunch - throwing a $20 bill on the table for her share of lunch (and where can you get a decent lunch for $20 these days?). It was so tacky and juvenile for a supposedly adult, professional woman. Good manners were forgotten and quite frankly, Gray didn’t actually deserve it.
However, I guess it’s a tribute to Clare’s writing that I became so involved with the characters that I wanted to criticise their thinking and their behaviour! Sadly I just didn’t feel the love between Gray and Abby and I found the latter a totally unsympathetic character.
I’m rating at three stars because CC is still is a very good writer, but I’ve knocked off 2 stars - for the unpleasant heroine and what I see as plot flaws. It’s still a good read though!
Sadly, I’m just not getting into this. The first book was okay but not as great as her usual creations. This one was also very disappointing.
Firstly, I hate stories where the woman has deliberately kept the father out of the loop - no matter how much she believed he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with the child. So I wasn’t too impressed with Abby from the beginning.
Then her response to him at the beginning - running away, insulting him and being generally a juvenile, and then her totally unheralded and inexplicable volte-face with the sex in the alley, just struck me as totally unbelievable in view of everything she thought about Gray.
Her behaviour and antipathy towards Gray seemed manufactured and inauthentic. She’s gone into the fling with Gray - eyes wide open (and although he was a jerk the way he’s ended it), she really wasn’t justified in her hatred/contempt of him for just enjoying the sex. He never promised her anything. There were times when she was so smug about her own motivations and so contemptuous of Gray’s that I just wanted him to walk away and leave her!
I just got so bored with her continuous ‘I’ll kiss him but we won’t have sex’ and ‘I don’t fit in’ baloney.
I disliked the attitude of the friend and her mother. Judgemental and unhelpful. I was horrified at her mother’s discourtesy after lunch - throwing a $20 bill on the table for her share of lunch (and where can you get a decent lunch for $20 these days?). It was so tacky and juvenile for a supposedly adult, professional woman. Good manners were forgotten and quite frankly, Gray didn’t actually deserve it.
However, I guess it’s a tribute to Clare’s writing that I became so involved with the characters that I wanted to criticise their thinking and their behaviour! Sadly I just didn’t feel the love between Gray and Abby and I found the latter a totally unsympathetic character.
I’m rating at three stars because CC is still is a very good writer, but I’ve knocked off 2 stars - for the unpleasant heroine and what I see as plot flaws. It’s still a good read though!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2021
Great romance, but needs a line edit
This is very much a Harlequin Presents type romance (which is no coincidence given Connelly writes for them as well), but a little spicier and a couple of f-bombs. Not something that bothers me, but if it does for you, you might want to give this one a miss (though there's really only a few of them).
Secret baby is not my favourite trope–a woman hiding her pregnancy for whatever reason doesn't sit well with me –but it kind of worked well within this story. The characters felt realistic and I really liked Abby, who didn't allow Gray to steamwalsh all over her.
My main tiff is that it needs editing, and this is an issue that I've had with other self-published books by Connelly as well. Formatting of dialogue gets frequently butchered and on quite a few occasions she mixes up Abby and Charlotte's names. A quick read through by a beta reader definitely could've fixed this before publication, and these are just things that are easy to fix, and make the end product just look so much more professional! As it is now, they stand out like a sore thumb in what I considered to be a really enjoyable romance, and it's so unnecessary!
There is actually a Bonus book included with this as well (Forget me Not), so Abby and Gray's story take up about 50% of the page count. Since I already read 'Forget Me Not' a couple of years ago, I didn't reread it again.
Overall, I did enjoy this story and look forward to the next instalment in this series.
This is very much a Harlequin Presents type romance (which is no coincidence given Connelly writes for them as well), but a little spicier and a couple of f-bombs. Not something that bothers me, but if it does for you, you might want to give this one a miss (though there's really only a few of them).
Secret baby is not my favourite trope–a woman hiding her pregnancy for whatever reason doesn't sit well with me –but it kind of worked well within this story. The characters felt realistic and I really liked Abby, who didn't allow Gray to steamwalsh all over her.
My main tiff is that it needs editing, and this is an issue that I've had with other self-published books by Connelly as well. Formatting of dialogue gets frequently butchered and on quite a few occasions she mixes up Abby and Charlotte's names. A quick read through by a beta reader definitely could've fixed this before publication, and these are just things that are easy to fix, and make the end product just look so much more professional! As it is now, they stand out like a sore thumb in what I considered to be a really enjoyable romance, and it's so unnecessary!
There is actually a Bonus book included with this as well (Forget me Not), so Abby and Gray's story take up about 50% of the page count. Since I already read 'Forget Me Not' a couple of years ago, I didn't reread it again.
Overall, I did enjoy this story and look forward to the next instalment in this series.
August 31, 2021
This is book 2 of the Rich list and it is off the charts. Gray Fortescue had a relationship with Abigail but after he felt himself becoming too involved, he ditched her. Abby loved him and Gray knew that but that didn't stop him from ripping her heart out in a truly cold way telling her it was just sex. Just sex it may have been for him but to Abby it was love and a pregnancy. She tries to tell him but when she finally gets him on the phone, he is abrupt and says what he said when he told her to leave. If that doesn't make you want to pick up this book, then you will be missing out on an amazing story. It had me from the first word till the end and it is truly a more than five-star book. Ms. Connelly never lets a reader down and I have read and loved every one of her books and this one goes on the top of my favorites. Deep, poignant and heart wrenching when Gray finds out about his daughter. The title is perfect I did Love and Hate him but love wins.
September 7, 2021
I really enjoyed Max's story in book 1, so I was looking forward to Grayson's, but I wasn't as excited about this story. Grayson is pretty unlikeable, especially at the beginning, a rich, arrogant man who thinks his wealth can dictate others lives. Abby was more likeable, but I didn't understand why she kept jumping into bed with him even after saying no, chemistry only goes so far in making decisions like that. She'd been a strong single mother for 15 months, then suddenly lost her backbone until near the end. At the last minute Grayson sees sense and all is understood. You know that they are going to get their happy ending because it's a romance, I'd have just liked the leading nan to be a nice guy.
Thanks to the author for a review copy in return for an honest review.
Thanks to the author for a review copy in return for an honest review.
February 13, 2025
Not sure hie to review this
Abby's pain and confusion following her rejection by Gray was heartbreaking. He consistently rejected her in any meaningful way unless for sex. I know she forgave him and got her HEA ending as he acknowledged his love for her but while I'm sort of understanding of Gray, I really didn't want him to 'get the girl' because quite honestly he didn't deserve Abby or his HEA with her
Abby's pain and confusion following her rejection by Gray was heartbreaking. He consistently rejected her in any meaningful way unless for sex. I know she forgave him and got her HEA ending as he acknowledged his love for her but while I'm sort of understanding of Gray, I really didn't want him to 'get the girl' because quite honestly he didn't deserve Abby or his HEA with her
August 25, 2021
A very good book
This is the 2nd book in the series and it was very good. The h and H had dated 2 years earlier, he broke off the relationship and it broke her heart, she loved him deeply. A month later she discovers she is pregnant but decides not to tell him, because he was saying he didn’t want love or children. They were able to find their way back to each other. The ending could have been better.
This is the 2nd book in the series and it was very good. The h and H had dated 2 years earlier, he broke off the relationship and it broke her heart, she loved him deeply. A month later she discovers she is pregnant but decides not to tell him, because he was saying he didn’t want love or children. They were able to find their way back to each other. The ending could have been better.
September 7, 2021
An okay read
Something was off with this story. I felt that the connection between the main characters were off. Did not enjoy it as other books by Clare. It took me a couple days to finish unlike other books by her that I normally finish within a day or two.. It however readable.
Something was off with this story. I felt that the connection between the main characters were off. Did not enjoy it as other books by Clare. It took me a couple days to finish unlike other books by her that I normally finish within a day or two.. It however readable.
August 24, 2021
Boring dull predictable
Nothing really happened.Gray doesn’t want to commit because of PTSD or something and Aby just wants to be loved.They work everything out and live HEA.The End.
Nothing really happened.Gray doesn’t want to commit because of PTSD or something and Aby just wants to be loved.They work everything out and live HEA.The End.
January 20, 2022
Great book
A book about a girl who fell in love with a man and finding out he just thought it was sex. Then finding out your pregnant and seeing him 2 years later. And falling in love with him again
A book about a girl who fell in love with a man and finding out he just thought it was sex. Then finding out your pregnant and seeing him 2 years later. And falling in love with him again
January 17, 2023
2nd chance secret baby
This is a very well written book. The story developed along with the characters. It had me engaged from the beginning. Well worth reading. Worth the cost. This was my first book by this author but it wont be may last. I am very impressed with the writting.
This is a very well written book. The story developed along with the characters. It had me engaged from the beginning. Well worth reading. Worth the cost. This was my first book by this author but it wont be may last. I am very impressed with the writting.
August 21, 2024
First, proofreading badly needed. Instead of referencing Abby, Charlotte’s name is used, among many other errors. The endless angst gets old after the first few chapters. Took way too long to resolve. Disappointed in this one, not this author’s best. 2.5 stars.
August 30, 2021
Afraid
I love Clare Connelly's writing. She has a way of hooking you into the story. I always rejoice when the defining moment occurs and the couple become one.
I love Clare Connelly's writing. She has a way of hooking you into the story. I always rejoice when the defining moment occurs and the couple become one.
September 15, 2021
Love Hate
Another good story by this talented author. I have enjoyed reading her other stories and I look forward to reading more.
Another good story by this talented author. I have enjoyed reading her other stories and I look forward to reading more.
December 1, 2021
**Actually a 2.5-rating**
October 14, 2021
Another fantastic story in this series. Clare Connelly is the best. Should have more than 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews