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The Icicle Heart
She had turned here back on love
Lawson was the dynamic millionaire head of the Alexander Corporation. To Ivory, he was nothing but her boss -- and a very daunting, formidable one, too!
Certainly she had no feelings of a personal nature for him. Quite the contrary. She was still too frozen with grief and humiliation after her fiance's callous treatment to feel that way about any man.
So why did she find Lawson occupying more and more of her thoughts?
Lawson was the dynamic millionaire head of the Alexander Corporation. To Ivory, he was nothing but her boss -- and a very daunting, formidable one, too!
Certainly she had no feelings of a personal nature for him. Quite the contrary. She was still too frozen with grief and humiliation after her fiance's callous treatment to feel that way about any man.
So why did she find Lawson occupying more and more of her thoughts?
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Jessica Steele
353 books114 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 30, 2018
That's the way our H, Lawson, reacts when he walks into his hotel bedroom and sees a beautiful naked blonde !
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"
The harsh sound of a deeply timbred voice brought Ivory up from the depths of sleep.
In the tradition of Goldilocks, our feisty heroine Ivory finds herself in the hotel suite of the H Lawson, who is also the CEO/owner of the corporation for which she works as a very junior secretary. The novel opens with this very entertaining scene where Lawson sees this strange young lady asleep in the bed next to his. He is annoyed, shocked and accuses her of being a prospective blackmailer. She is embarrassed, a little scared ( since there's a naked hunk lying in the bed next to hers ) but still shows how spunky she is by challenging him. This novel was a charming little story developed around the office romance trope where the boss and his secretary fall in love. The office romance trope is not my favourite but this one worked for me, because I enjoyed the way the author maintained the latent sexual tension between MC's who are always aware that they shouldn't be crossing the line between employer and employee. The situation at the start of the story is soon cleared up, though, and Lawson alters Ivory's travel plans so that she can stay and be his temporary typist.
This is the heroine, Ivory:
This is the H, Lawson:
There's a lot of cute bickering between the MC's and I enjoyed how Ivory stood up for herself even though he is the big bad boss. Lawson is very gentlemanly but it's easy to see that he is attracted to Ivory. There's a nice and funny scene where Lawson gets mad at her for stranding him with a socialite ( possibly a former OW ) who invites herself to join them while they're having dinner. He had obviously not wanted to be left alone with the woman but Sheba ( the OW ) was very, pushy, dense and shameless ( as OW usually tend to be ). She was full of disdain and condescension for the heroine, whom she totally ignored while preening for the H. It made me even more annoyed and judgemental of her ! Why is the OW always so unmannerly in romance novels ?
I also laughed a lot at her name because I thought that people only named dogs "Sheba" these days ! But then again, this novel was before my time so maybe it was normal then for women to be called Sheba.
Ivory's also drawn to Lawson but the recent break up of her engagement has left her a bit soured towards men and romance. Ivory had been engaged to marry a man called Michael but he dumped her because she had wanted to wait until after the wedding to sleep with him. Michael reasoned that she was frigid and he didn't want to risk tying himself to a woman like that. Ivory isn't frigid because she seems to get heated and full of ladylike lust whenever Lawson was around. She even tells Lawson at the end that she knows she loves him because he would never have to ask her to sleep with him; she would do so because she wants to and just can't help herself. There's no sex in the novel but a couple of make out sessions and lots of passionate kissing. Much of the story revolves around the actual office routine and the MC's professional interaction. There was a great scene towards the end where Lawson put a well deserved beating on Michael when the latter attempted to rape Ivory. It was one of the best scenes in the novel and I laughed with glee when Michael got kicked out on his ass, from the hotel room !
There's also a wannabe OM called Jan ( pronounced as "Yuhn" since he's Dutch ). He's a good friend of Lawson's and he's a a diamond heir. Jan's a really great guy and one of the best wannabe OM I've come across. He's gallant, handsome and is so besotted with Ivory that he proposes to her. If there's no Lawson, then Ivory would have been really lucky to get a guy like Jan. It's kinda like Axl Rose's temporary tenure as AC/DC's frontman: Axl was very good and super talented, but he can never quite fill Brian Johnson's legendary shoes. I enjoyed this light romance and the MC's were well matched. There was no significant OW drama and I loved how the H tried to fight his feelings by being professional yet getting extremely jealous every time Ivory had a date with Jan. Jessica Steele's H's always have a clear, unique way of showing their possessiveness and jealousy. They don't do it in the normal way but by but more subtle means and sometimes the reader has to read between the lines to detect it.
The MC's build up to their love confessions were cute and romantic too:
"So you wouldn't marry a millionaire unless you loved him?" Lawson asked slowly.
"I wouldn't marry any man unless I loved him," she replied, some of the heat going out of her.
"Why," he answered quite simply. "Because I love you, and..."
"You love me!" Ivory exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears at the shock his words gave her.
"You can't," she said disbelievingly. Then huskily, because he was being too cruel to play with her like this when he must now have guessed how she felt about him, "You don't mean it, do you?"
"My beautiful darling," he told her gently, the trembling of her body reaching him through her thin covering, "I lost my head and my heart to you in Amsterdam."
Safety: No sex. No cheating, in my opinion. The heroine did date the OM Jan and he did kiss her but it was a chaste type of kiss. There was mild wannabe OW drama.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2015
Well, quelle surprise. The H was not an asshat although he was just arrogant and commanding enough to not be boring, and the heroine had a feisty little spine.
Old school without some of the icky tropes of rape, bad siblings/parental units, or slings of sluttiness.
Old school without some of the icky tropes of rape, bad siblings/parental units, or slings of sluttiness.
August 10, 2020
The standout of this story was a fleeting glimpse of a wannabe OW named Sheba Nightingale. I wanted to see more of her. LOL
The H/h "meet cute" when heroine goes to the wrong suite and falls asleep in the twin bed opposite the hero. At first hero thinks she's trying to entrap him, but quickly figures out (1) she works for his company (2) she's virginal and bitter about men (3) he's smitten.
The heroine doesn't realize hero's intentions until the last chapter, but that's okay. We have a front seat to the hero breaking every ethical business rule by extending her stay in Amsterdam and paying for her extra clothes, wining and dining her each night, transferring her to his office once they're back in England, taking her with him on his next business trip. If that isn't enough of a clue, the hero is jealous of the OM he introduced her to - and everyone else who wanders into her orbit.
If you like oblivious heroines and smitten heroes, this one is for you.
The H/h "meet cute" when heroine goes to the wrong suite and falls asleep in the twin bed opposite the hero. At first hero thinks she's trying to entrap him, but quickly figures out (1) she works for his company (2) she's virginal and bitter about men (3) he's smitten.
The heroine doesn't realize hero's intentions until the last chapter, but that's okay. We have a front seat to the hero breaking every ethical business rule by extending her stay in Amsterdam and paying for her extra clothes, wining and dining her each night, transferring her to his office once they're back in England, taking her with him on his next business trip. If that isn't enough of a clue, the hero is jealous of the OM he introduced her to - and everyone else who wanders into her orbit.
If you like oblivious heroines and smitten heroes, this one is for you.
February 23, 2018
Nice, but kinda forgettable office romance. Heroine is a Mary Sue but not insufferably so. Hero is a lot more one-dimensional. He definitely enjoyed provoking her and how she stood up to him (though he never did really cruel stuff, at least not compared to the usual jerky heroes of HPlandia).
In the end, I was happy that she got her HE A with him.
This vintage story is full of vintagey goodness:
-Heroine wakes up in hero's hotel room due to the hotel's reservation mishap, and is embarrassed that hero glimpsed her "naked shoulders."
-Hero "orders" her to dine with him. When she leaves him in the clutches of an unwanted OW, he shows up at her door twenty minutes later and threatens that he will fire her if she ever walks out on him again.
-Hero stops slimy ex from raping heroine.
-Hero breaks his cheroot in half from intense jealousy at heroine's relationship with OM.
-Heroine shares a flat in a Victorian mansion where the shabby furniture is prettily covered by material that she and her flatmate hand-sewed.
-Lots of punishing kisses that the heroine enjoys.
Etc.
I have pretty much hated every single JS book I have previously attempted so this was a nice surprise :)
In the end, I was happy that she got her HE A with him.
This vintage story is full of vintagey goodness:
-Heroine wakes up in hero's hotel room due to the hotel's reservation mishap, and is embarrassed that hero glimpsed her "naked shoulders."
-Hero "orders" her to dine with him. When she leaves him in the clutches of an unwanted OW, he shows up at her door twenty minutes later and threatens that he will fire her if she ever walks out on him again.
-Hero stops slimy ex from raping heroine.
-Hero breaks his cheroot in half from intense jealousy at heroine's relationship with OM.
-Heroine shares a flat in a Victorian mansion where the shabby furniture is prettily covered by material that she and her flatmate hand-sewed.
-Lots of punishing kisses that the heroine enjoys.
Etc.
I have pretty much hated every single JS book I have previously attempted so this was a nice surprise :)
January 8, 2019
“The Icicle Heart” is the story of Ivory and Lawson.
This is a confusing and old school romance between a wounded heroine and a smitten (ish) hero.
Basically our h was dumped by her enamored fiancé around 6 months ago, something that let her bitter and overly cautious.
Now she works in the statistics department of Alexander Corporation, and when an opportunity comes to go travel and deliver a message to its owner, she takes it.
The book begins with the heroine waking up in the wrong bed, being caught and chastised by the hero, but soon agrees to assist him on the trip as his secretary.
He then asks her out to dinner while paying for her dresses, and the heroine reluctantly agrees. Thus begins a super slow brewing romance.
-The heroine is courted by the H’s friend something that obviously makes him jealous
-The dreaded douchebag ex ofcourse makes an appearance, in form of an almost rapist
-The hero on the other hand is sweet but brooding, does not cross any lines except sweet kissing
-The heroine is a strange combination of innocence, morality and feistiness, and I think her independent yet sweet disposition is what draws the the men towards her
-There is not much actual romance so as to say, but we can see the sparks of attraction between the two
-I somewhat enjoyed the random declaration of bilateral love confessions in the end
Somewhat enjoyed this read!
Safe
2.5/5
This is a confusing and old school romance between a wounded heroine and a smitten (ish) hero.
Basically our h was dumped by her enamored fiancé around 6 months ago, something that let her bitter and overly cautious.
Now she works in the statistics department of Alexander Corporation, and when an opportunity comes to go travel and deliver a message to its owner, she takes it.
The book begins with the heroine waking up in the wrong bed, being caught and chastised by the hero, but soon agrees to assist him on the trip as his secretary.
He then asks her out to dinner while paying for her dresses, and the heroine reluctantly agrees. Thus begins a super slow brewing romance.
-The heroine is courted by the H’s friend something that obviously makes him jealous
-The dreaded douchebag ex ofcourse makes an appearance, in form of an almost rapist
-The hero on the other hand is sweet but brooding, does not cross any lines except sweet kissing
-The heroine is a strange combination of innocence, morality and feistiness, and I think her independent yet sweet disposition is what draws the the men towards her
-There is not much actual romance so as to say, but we can see the sparks of attraction between the two
-I somewhat enjoyed the random declaration of bilateral love confessions in the end
Somewhat enjoyed this read!
Safe
2.5/5
May 23, 2021
3.5 Very pleasant read, fast flowing, with likeable protagonists.
I liked how the Lawson is really perceptive and takes care of Ivory in small ways like noticing she’s got a headache, driving her home and even handing her the aspirin. He’s kinda adorable. Ivory of course doesn’t notice he’s playing guardian Angel (an occasionally grumpy guardian Angel with an agenda but still) even though otherwise she’s quite a smart girl.
Overall a pleasant book, with fun interactions between the protagonists. I really like the chemistry between Jessica Steele’s characters and this one doesn’t disappoint :)
I liked how the Lawson is really perceptive and takes care of Ivory in small ways like noticing she’s got a headache, driving her home and even handing her the aspirin. He’s kinda adorable. Ivory of course doesn’t notice he’s playing guardian Angel (an occasionally grumpy guardian Angel with an agenda but still) even though otherwise she’s quite a smart girl.
Overall a pleasant book, with fun interactions between the protagonists. I really like the chemistry between Jessica Steele’s characters and this one doesn’t disappoint :)
October 8, 2012
This is my first book by this author...and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked that though the heroine was young, she was strong and gave as good as she got. I also liked that, it was made obvious throughout the book that the hero had fallen "hook, line and sinker". So a lot of his arrogant demanding ways, were actually very endearing.
If you are looking for a light read that can grab you quickly and put a smile on your face..this one will work for you.
If you are looking for a light read that can grab you quickly and put a smile on your face..this one will work for you.
June 6, 2015
It was apparent early on how he felt about her, it took her a long time to get her own feelings straighten out. She was young and had a broken engagement 6 months prior to meeting him for not putting out and holding to her virginity prior to the wedding. We met the old fiance later on in the book and he was a scum.
July 26, 2013
Decent read. Liked the heroine in this one. Hero was also not bad. Sweet romance.
December 8, 2022
Kinda cute and sweet but slow at picking up. The h was restrained but she could talk back. The H was older and smitten but he was just not getting as territorial as he could’ve.
The H gave the h all the space in the world to meet with OM (of sorts) and/or attend meetings with an ex or just go do bloody whatever she wanted without throwing a fit. Still my fave office trope so extra stars for that.
The H gave the h all the space in the world to meet with OM (of sorts) and/or attend meetings with an ex or just go do bloody whatever she wanted without throwing a fit. Still my fave office trope so extra stars for that.
November 4, 2013
4 Stars ~ Terribly hurt when her fiance ends their engagement, Ivory leaves her hometown to go to London. She had been a secretary for the Alexnder Corporation for six months and was secretly thrilled that the secretary usually sent to courier documents to the CEO had forgotten to update her passport, and here she was with one ready for it's first stamp. She arrived in Amsterdam very late and as soon as she got to the room at the hotel she had headed straight to her bed. When morning arrived she was rudely awakened by a booming voice demanding to know "Who the hell are you?!' This begins Ivory's adventure.
Lawson is at first enraged that there's a strange woman in the second bed of his room, thinking she is an opportunist and blackmailer. But from her blushes and wide eyes, he quickly realizes that there must have been a mixup. Needing a secretary on sight, he extends Ivory's overnight stay and sets up an impromptu office in his suite. Ivory proves to be hardworking. When she primly declines his dinner invitation, he's at first irate but then learning she has anything to wear, he quickly pulls out his wallet. Offended, Ivory informs him that no man buys her clothing, and he has to insist that this qualifies as business expenses. Lawson is thoroughly intrigued by this prim young woman and finds he wants to get to know her better.
This is one of Ms. Steele's first published romances, and it's easily one of her best. It's easy to see that Lawson is completed enchanted with Ivory as he slowly draws her out of her shell. Ivory can't understand why he makes her edgy and instantly sets out to dislike him. I loved both these characters and was glad to see that not only Ivory was on shaky ground with her love, but Lawson had some insecure moments too. He'd patiently waited for the ice around her heart to melt, only to watch his best friend whirl in and almost sweep her off feet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lawon and Ivory's journey to HEA.
Lawson is at first enraged that there's a strange woman in the second bed of his room, thinking she is an opportunist and blackmailer. But from her blushes and wide eyes, he quickly realizes that there must have been a mixup. Needing a secretary on sight, he extends Ivory's overnight stay and sets up an impromptu office in his suite. Ivory proves to be hardworking. When she primly declines his dinner invitation, he's at first irate but then learning she has anything to wear, he quickly pulls out his wallet. Offended, Ivory informs him that no man buys her clothing, and he has to insist that this qualifies as business expenses. Lawson is thoroughly intrigued by this prim young woman and finds he wants to get to know her better.
This is one of Ms. Steele's first published romances, and it's easily one of her best. It's easy to see that Lawson is completed enchanted with Ivory as he slowly draws her out of her shell. Ivory can't understand why he makes her edgy and instantly sets out to dislike him. I loved both these characters and was glad to see that not only Ivory was on shaky ground with her love, but Lawson had some insecure moments too. He'd patiently waited for the ice around her heart to melt, only to watch his best friend whirl in and almost sweep her off feet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lawon and Ivory's journey to HEA.
April 21, 2021
Simple, predictable office romance. The bossy boss and the mousy-at-times , fiery-at-times secretary. And yes, stating the obvious, he is a 35 year old successful tycoon of the world. She is a virgin 21 year old with 'limited' knowledge about the kiss and cuddle business !!!
Of course he figures out quite early in the story that the girl is an untouched sweet English miss. And he sets about getting her hooked quite methodically. Planning cozy official trips abroad, dinner dates in the name of work, paying for her lengerie out of his expenses account ;)))))))
She spends the first few chapters adjusting to his high handedness, then the next few chapters giving it back to him. And finally in the last couple of chapters, he softens enough to show her his protective, loving side quite openly. The final confession is quite sweet too. The girl sounds all surprised and unaware of the fellow's lovey dovey intentions towards her when he confesses.
As a veteran reader of such romances, I could only roll my eyes at her naivette! But come on, she is a timid 21 year old virgin. She is allowed to have her illusions about men ;)
There is an OM, the hero's best buddy, another millionaire tycoon !!!! And our sweet little innocent manages to hook that fellow as well. To the extent that he proposes even before our hero does, and just after a few chaste dates too !!
Well, well, some girls have all the luck. Spoilt for choice between 2 millionaire hunks. What's not to like :))
Of course he figures out quite early in the story that the girl is an untouched sweet English miss. And he sets about getting her hooked quite methodically. Planning cozy official trips abroad, dinner dates in the name of work, paying for her lengerie out of his expenses account ;)))))))
She spends the first few chapters adjusting to his high handedness, then the next few chapters giving it back to him. And finally in the last couple of chapters, he softens enough to show her his protective, loving side quite openly. The final confession is quite sweet too. The girl sounds all surprised and unaware of the fellow's lovey dovey intentions towards her when he confesses.
As a veteran reader of such romances, I could only roll my eyes at her naivette! But come on, she is a timid 21 year old virgin. She is allowed to have her illusions about men ;)
There is an OM, the hero's best buddy, another millionaire tycoon !!!! And our sweet little innocent manages to hook that fellow as well. To the extent that he proposes even before our hero does, and just after a few chaste dates too !!
Well, well, some girls have all the luck. Spoilt for choice between 2 millionaire hunks. What's not to like :))
February 1, 2014
I enjoyed reading all of Jessica Steele's books. She never ceases to amaze me.
She always portrayed her hero as brooding, ruthless, cold-hearted, arrogant, demanding, possessive, and not to mention rich and overly gorgeous, but once they fell in love, they fell hard. And that is exactly what happened to Lawson. He seemed cold when it came to Ivory. He was always cruel with words.
Ivory was Ms. Steele's typical heroine. Smart, independent, virgin, and even though she's young, she stood up for herself. She wouldn't take any nonsense from the hero. In fact, she hated him for treating her that way, but she can't discard the fact he also makes her heartbeat like crazy.
I enjoyed the snappy remarks between Lawson and Ivory. Plus, the chemistry and sexual tension between them really sizzles. They bounce off each other well.
The Icicle Heart was thoroughly enjoyable with its great storyline, fantastic dialogues, and great characters.
She always portrayed her hero as brooding, ruthless, cold-hearted, arrogant, demanding, possessive, and not to mention rich and overly gorgeous, but once they fell in love, they fell hard. And that is exactly what happened to Lawson. He seemed cold when it came to Ivory. He was always cruel with words.
Ivory was Ms. Steele's typical heroine. Smart, independent, virgin, and even though she's young, she stood up for herself. She wouldn't take any nonsense from the hero. In fact, she hated him for treating her that way, but she can't discard the fact he also makes her heartbeat like crazy.
I enjoyed the snappy remarks between Lawson and Ivory. Plus, the chemistry and sexual tension between them really sizzles. They bounce off each other well.
The Icicle Heart was thoroughly enjoyable with its great storyline, fantastic dialogues, and great characters.
March 22, 2025
Hero says at the end that he has put a lot of living (greedy women) in his 35 years and he’s unused to girls as innocent as the heroine (21). But, if he fell for her in Amsterdam, why didn’t he try to date her afterwards? Instead he takes some other woman out and only instigates communication with the heroine after seeing her a few weeks later when he is with another woman and she is with another man. Seems odd and not romantic. Then he stands by and works with her whilst she is dating his friend and does nothing about it? There is just so much detail about typing and contracts. He is a workaholic and she can do better.
I didn’t like the hero much, although the heroine was pretty cool. I think she could have suited the diamond millionaire or waited around for someone who hasn’t been easily given so much life into those 35 years.
I didn’t like the hero much, although the heroine was pretty cool. I think she could have suited the diamond millionaire or waited around for someone who hasn’t been easily given so much life into those 35 years.
October 25, 2012
I love how Jessica Steele creates conflict in her heroes, who end up loving the very one they hate and distrust. Then they must grovel a little! Her heroes can be ruthless.
Jessica Steele writes Harlequin Romances and some Hqn Presents. She is now about 80 years old, sad to say. Steele's sentence construction is sometimes disconcerting, but I got used to that.
IMO, she is among the best at Hqn in terms of storytelling and sexual tension. Her heroines are virgins, and the wanting drives the heroes nuts.
I read this eons ago, and never forgot it, keeping it on hand.
Jessica Steele writes Harlequin Romances and some Hqn Presents. She is now about 80 years old, sad to say. Steele's sentence construction is sometimes disconcerting, but I got used to that.
IMO, she is among the best at Hqn in terms of storytelling and sexual tension. Her heroines are virgins, and the wanting drives the heroes nuts.
I read this eons ago, and never forgot it, keeping it on hand.
September 11, 2021
I was having a hard time reading this and I hadn’t even read 30 pages. So I came here to see the reviews and if it may be worth wasting my time further.
Nahh. I skimmed the book a bit.
I can’t take the h. I love an innocent, virgin h. But there is a line (and not a fine line, but a very big line) between innocent and stupid. And this h is stupid.
I’ve had enough of reading when she doesn’t want to take money from the owner of the firm (so the H) to pay for her dress and bra, but she does accept his offer to hand in the declarations of the costs for her dress and bra with the firm. Omg, how stupid can you be. He is the owner ffs
And what I also don’t like, is that she blushes every second.
She was always wearing nightgowns it seems. Even in the opening scene in which he finds her in his hotelroom, she wasn’t naked but wearing a nightgown.
Tame and boring.
Nahh. I skimmed the book a bit.
I can’t take the h. I love an innocent, virgin h. But there is a line (and not a fine line, but a very big line) between innocent and stupid. And this h is stupid.
I’ve had enough of reading when she doesn’t want to take money from the owner of the firm (so the H) to pay for her dress and bra, but she does accept his offer to hand in the declarations of the costs for her dress and bra with the firm. Omg, how stupid can you be. He is the owner ffs
And what I also don’t like, is that she blushes every second.
She was always wearing nightgowns it seems. Even in the opening scene in which he finds her in his hotelroom, she wasn’t naked but wearing a nightgown.
Tame and boring.
June 9, 2018
Boring
December 4, 2022
Well-written but without a spark!
After Ivory's engagement turned sour, she's become aloof and distrustful with men. She's interested only in her job. That's why she gladly agrees to travel on short notice to Amsterdam, where the owner of the company impatiently awaits some important papers. She's to fly in, give him the needed papers and leave without causing a trouble. Instead Ivory wakes up in a hotel room with a stranger.
After Ivory's engagement turned sour, she's become aloof and distrustful with men. She's interested only in her job. That's why she gladly agrees to travel on short notice to Amsterdam, where the owner of the company impatiently awaits some important papers. She's to fly in, give him the needed papers and leave without causing a trouble. Instead Ivory wakes up in a hotel room with a stranger.
May 21, 2014
very old-fashioned but still enjoyable! it was so obvious the hero was besotted from the first! ivory had blind eyes, really! she was a very naive, childish girl, barely out of her teens and had left home bcoz of a broken engagement. i dunno if i can believe all of a sudden she was in love wid lawson! it's too quick after michael and it does look like she had a fickle heart :P
August 13, 2020
2+
JS has some plots where the hero just pesters the heroine until they come together in a moment of understanding after a lot more pestering. This was one of those. Toss in a few peccadilloes of JS' I like less and she leaned on hard here, and it's a meh for me.
One thing that JS got right was how clear it was hero fell for the heroine, and how hard, conveyed staring out a window at Holland. JS doesn't always give over those dawning realizations but it worked well in this one.
Heroine is a bit wishy-washy, though she's sweet and shows her capabilities. Hero just ... pesters, and then resists, and then is terse -- which to today's sensibilities feels more like harassment, for all that he's got a descent streak he hates for her to see lest she realize he's done for where she's concerned. They fell in love because they did, we don't have to know the reason -- and are not given one based on all they do is spend time together being tetchy. Sometimes JS has that: leads with chemistry that won't be ignored or appeased by anything other than love, that simply is. And sometimes it works better than it did here.
JS' sometimes twisty prose got in its own way more than a few times in this one as well. Toss in the tepid love triangles for unneeded complications and it was all a bit of a mis-fit.
JS has some plots where the hero just pesters the heroine until they come together in a moment of understanding after a lot more pestering. This was one of those. Toss in a few peccadilloes of JS' I like less and she leaned on hard here, and it's a meh for me.
One thing that JS got right was how clear it was hero fell for the heroine, and how hard, conveyed staring out a window at Holland. JS doesn't always give over those dawning realizations but it worked well in this one.
Heroine is a bit wishy-washy, though she's sweet and shows her capabilities. Hero just ... pesters, and then resists, and then is terse -- which to today's sensibilities feels more like harassment, for all that he's got a descent streak he hates for her to see lest she realize he's done for where she's concerned. They fell in love because they did, we don't have to know the reason -- and are not given one based on all they do is spend time together being tetchy. Sometimes JS has that: leads with chemistry that won't be ignored or appeased by anything other than love, that simply is. And sometimes it works better than it did here.
JS' sometimes twisty prose got in its own way more than a few times in this one as well. Toss in the tepid love triangles for unneeded complications and it was all a bit of a mis-fit.
December 27, 2017
234 - خجولة جدا
روايات عبير الجديدة
ايفوري سكرتيرة لامعة ومحافظة اصطدمت بشركتها تبعث بها الى الخارج في مهمة سريعة بينما هي فتاة لم تترك انكلترا مسقط رأسها من قبل في امستردام وجدت نفسها المساعدة المؤقتة للسيد الكسندر لاوسون رئيس الشركة بنفسه ..... وياله من رئيس .....انه الطاغية والمستبد بنفسه يعطيها الاوامر و يحتكر وقتها ويراقبها........ ولكن ايفوري لاتريد الاستسلام لرغباته لاتريد ان تفقد عملها والسيد لاوسون يملك كل القوة .........
روايات عبير الجديدة
ايفوري سكرتيرة لامعة ومحافظة اصطدمت بشركتها تبعث بها الى الخارج في مهمة سريعة بينما هي فتاة لم تترك انكلترا مسقط رأسها من قبل في امستردام وجدت نفسها المساعدة المؤقتة للسيد الكسندر لاوسون رئيس الشركة بنفسه ..... وياله من رئيس .....انه الطاغية والمستبد بنفسه يعطيها الاوامر و يحتكر وقتها ويراقبها........ ولكن ايفوري لاتريد الاستسلام لرغباته لاتريد ان تفقد عملها والسيد لاوسون يملك كل القوة .........
January 14, 2023
Usually I find JS romances frustrating because she dribbles tangled sentences so lavishly that the plot and story get lost. The sentences in Icicle are standard English but the romance and characters are flat, boring. I had to work to finish this.
July 6, 2018
one of favourite books woow I loved it so much
the chemistry was there and this book is one of my favourite books for Jessica
I will recommend it absolutely for romance fan
and office romance fan
the chemistry was there and this book is one of my favourite books for Jessica
I will recommend it absolutely for romance fan
and office romance fan
July 26, 2019
Not the most interesting book but I really liked the last sentence of the book.
January 16, 2023
This was a very JS-lite! None of the real angst of her older books. This was very predictable and the h was a watering pot. She was somewhat dense to not realize how the H felt.
March 24, 2024
Fofo fofo.... E que sortuda, dois milionários gatos dando sopa assim heim ... Tem gente que nasceu virada pra 🌙
November 6, 2020
She had turned her back on love
Lawson was the dynamic millionaire head of the Alexander Corporation. To Ivory, he was nothing but her boss -- and a very daunting, formidable one, too!
Certainly she had no feelings of a personal nature for him. Quite the contrary. She was still too frozen with grief and humiliation after her fiance's callous treatment to feel that way about any man.
So why did she find Lawson occupying more and more of her thoughts?
Lawson was the dynamic millionaire head of the Alexander Corporation. To Ivory, he was nothing but her boss -- and a very daunting, formidable one, too!
Certainly she had no feelings of a personal nature for him. Quite the contrary. She was still too frozen with grief and humiliation after her fiance's callous treatment to feel that way about any man.
So why did she find Lawson occupying more and more of her thoughts?
June 17, 2026
This was written in 1979, so it definitely has an older feel to it. There were some lol moments. Usually, Jessica Steele's heroines are 23 and older. Ivory was only 21, so pretty young. Having Lawson's best friend fall in love with her, too, was a bit awkward. I liked the travelogue. Some spice. An attempted rape, so might be hard for some readers.
Read
April 16, 2011Might have 2 copies
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