Beware the Beast

by Anne Mather

Alex Faulkner was a complete stranger to Charlotte when he blackmailed her into marrying him, and whisked her off to live with him on a lonely Greek island. He made it quite clear that all he really wanted from her was a son, the sooner the better.

It was, Charlotte thought desperately, a Beauty and the Beast situation, for she was powerless to escape him. Yet in this story, Beauty has fallen in love with the Beast. But Alex has made it clear that he has only one use for her!

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

188 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Anne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson, a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.

Reviews

[Rain Hart]

"Beware: The Pervert"

* A thousand thanks to Booklover for providing such a perfect, highly appropriate title for this story.
Everything's in place right now!


* * * SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! * * *

I do not intend to use formatting in order to hide spoilers for one reason, and one reason only - if you have any (and by any I mean one) even partially smart cell in your brain, you will not read this book. Unless, of course, you wish to write an amusing review, in which case I'll applaud your effort and gladly read it myself.

Anyway, here's what I have to say...

The story starts off with our young heroine Charlotte (nineteen years old at the time, if my math is good) who is trying to cope with her father's death. Which turns out to be a suicide, actually. Something along the "lousy gambler got what he deserved" line. But, naturally, that's not all. Her daddy's lawyer informs her that this (mysterious, powerful and wealthy... if there is any other kind) man - and who else would that be, than our hero Alex - owns her.

Yep, you got it. He owns the house, the business, and to top it all off has a contract (signed by her precious, loving daddy) stating that she must marry him, and give birth to a son (son, not just a child, mind you, because he's forty years old and in need of an heir!), unless she wants to end up on the streets, without any money, and thus allow the story about the gambler who sold his own child go to the press.

How... inventive. Right? Right???

So, what can this poor, young, unprotected girl do? She must go along with it.
Yes, this means they do marry, and Alex takes her to some tiny Greek island, where he lives when he's not traveling on business, or enjoying himself around the world.
She hates him, of course, for forcing her into marriage, and ruining her father - well, yes, she does strongly believe Alex is solely to blame - although our hero is remarkably honorable and doesn't force her to... khm, perform her duties. Do I hear applause? Do I?

Let's just skip the part where they avoid each other/lightly enjoy each other's company/try to tolerate each other (it's boring, honestly), and move forward to the first sex ever - for heroine, at least.
I must admit, it was kind of disturbing. The way it's written it just seems too... non-consent, when actually the point (as it occurs) was to emphasize that "first time" can be painful, and not quite enjoyable enough for a female (well, duh). Fifteen minutes later (or should I say after?) our hero is off to a scheduled trip to USA... where he stayed for about two or three months (?!).

While he's absent, our heroine finds out she's pregnant. That's kind of a de facto, though it sometimes does seem that "once is not always all it takes" could sound rather refreshing. But, then again, who am I to judge?!
So, after Alex comes back, they have some great, big fights and some better, much more enjoyable sex. And then he leaves again. And doesn't come back for like four or five months. Honestly, I can't recall if there is any other story that includes that kind of longish-absence pattern.

One day, Alex kind of just shows up... because he can't stay away from his beloved wife any longer.
* Where did that come from? Yes, there were some hints that his feelings are unnaturally strong considering the circumstances, but still...

Could you believe, Charlotte gave birth to their child (rather prematurely) hours after her husband returned?
And, why, you're wondering probably, do I feel the need to emphasize it?

Well, it is crucial, because it seems to me that it marks the point where the author was kind of like - This is all taking too long. Lets just wrap it up in another five pages or so, and be done with it already.
And, that's when this story, that could've easily been another ordinary not-the-best-romance-ever, went downhill and fast.

So, my main horror-like feeling related to this story happens right at the very end.
Charlotte believes Alex is ready to kick her out, now that she performed her duty and gave him a son, but she's sick about that because she is desperately in love with her husband.
Not as much as her husband is in love with her, but she has no way of knowing that.
And, when she finally does confront him, she finds out he wants a happy ever after with her. Why?

Because he is in love with Charlotte for eight years.

Now, let me make this clear to you.
At this point, Alex is 41. Charlotte is 2o.
Which means he fell in love with her when he was 33, and she was 12. TWELVE!
Get it? Got it?

I'm trying to imagine myself writing this romance, and coming to the very end.
- I saw you eight years ago, and fell in love right on the spot. I was 33, running a company for ten years already, and you were 12, a little school girl, pigtails and all...
Shouldn't I pause for a moment here, and reconsider that?

Lady, there's a name for those kind of guys, and it ain't a nice one.
What, it was a brilliant thought back in '76. to come up with a romance about a pedophile? Seriously?
To add insult to injury, no one seems to consider this is alarming, or even not exactly an everyday occurrence. Moreover, it's like he did a noble thing by falling in love with a child, and thanks to that doing his best to protect her from her useless, gambling dad.
There's even a line going - he didn't want to adopt you, since that wasn't the nature of his feelings - or however it was explained. Well, how... reassuring. That makes it perfectly fine, right? Wrong!

And, don't even think about it's just a fantasy attitude.
Ménage is a fantasy.
Vampire is a fantasy.
Lora Leigh's Breeds are a fantasy.
This... this is just plain sick.

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calgon take me away to 1977 when 39 year-old men blackmailed 18 year-old virgins into marriage to pay off their dead Daddy's gambling debts. This is the old skool read I needed today.

Ah, memories of lapping up the emotions from categories like this when I was in high school. From the heroine's nervousness about sex that haunted the first few chapters. And how it hurt the first time after the hero got carried away! And how she got pregnant from that one time! Health class was right to warn us all off.

Then there was the puzzling behavior of the hero who stayed away from his idyllic Greek island for weeks and months at time. How he got angry when the heroine didn't embrace the idea of marriage to a stranger. How he flirted with a distant cousin during Christmas and didn't even ask the heroine to dance.

What? It all meant he loved he all along - in fact he fell in love and wanted to protect her when he first saw her - six years before. *mental math face* When she was 12 and he was 33.

Creepy or Brook Shields movie? Ha, ha. It was the 70's. What can I say? It was a freaky time.

So triggers - the first sex scene is dubious consent and heroine is traumatized the next day. From then on the heroine enjoys sex but thinks she shouldn't because of the contract.

As far as an Anne Mather goes - this one was pretty tame. H/h aren't even related by marriage - but the May/December gap is huge.

[Julz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beware The Beast is right. This is one of those books where some of the plot points were so far out there, you wonder if it wasn't a passive-aggressive move by the author to get back at the publisher. ("Rush me will you? Tell me my stories don't have enough action, eh? Well, how about this beauty then?" ;D) And this one does have one beauty of a WTF?!? moment, several actually . I checked some of the other reviews and, yes, there were definitely those who were outraged, particularly at the motives of the H which aren't revealed until the very end. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

And just so you know, this is one great big spoiler.

At the start of the story, the h, Charlotte, is dealing with the recent death of her father who was killed in a boating "accident." We get clued in to state of the body, which is reported to be all bloated when it washes up onto the shore. That was a lovely picture. The H, Alex, is introduced when we find out the father's accident was actually a suicide because he had indebted himself to the H who now owned everything (home, business, etc.) and the only way for the father to secure the future of his daughter was to increase his life insurance and off himself. But don't love the father for his sacrifice yet. We learn to see him as scum to be villianized. During this same time, we learn that the father had actually "sold" the h to the H, when he sought financial help when ol' dad gambled away their assets. They actually wrote up a contract (unbeknowest to the h) that says the H gets everything, and unless the h wants to live destitute forever and ever, she has to marry the H and provide him with an heir. Just as we expect, the h sees no way out and does indeed marry the tall, dark, and handsome H and is whisked away to a tiny island in Greece (Of course! If there's an island that the h is whisked away to, it has to be in Greece. It's a Harley law...at least in majority of the one's I've read so far.)

Just as an aside, the h is 18 and the H is 39. This becomes important later.

We are then given pages upon pages of the h living on the tiny island, meeting grandma, pouting, etc., etc. We get a lot of descriptions of the H dressed in full out 70s garb...when he's there. He leaves a lot. The h does the spoiled I'm-not-going-to-be-your-friend thing through most of the story. It's a little boring. I actually flounced for a month when I was half way through.

My flouncing point was just a few pages short of when the H & h have their first time. I guess you could say the described experience is a hard limit/pet peeve/WTF! moment for many. The h get's the H all hot and bothered and then changes her mind at almost the last minute. But Oh Ho!, our H was out of his mind with lust, tells her he can't stop, rips her gown off and takes her virginity all quick and dirty like. She's all upset that it happened at all. He thinks she's just mad because it hurt and gives her a little speech about how it always hurts the first time and if he wasn't in a hurry he could show her "how good it could be." She then gives him down-the-road (I hate you!)...right before he rushes out the door (He was on his way out before they even got started. I told ya, he leaves a lot) He ends up staying gone for 6 weeks.

Well, you know they did it ONE time without protection, so guess what happens? You betcha! EGGYOS! (which I looked up because I wanted the Greek word for pregnant and this is what I got. Love that!)

The H finally drags his butt back looking all haggard and stressed. It's in the middle of the night so he falls asleep sitting up in the h's room. She strips him and tucks him in, making for extra convenience when they wake for a bit of early morning nookie, which is good this time (simultaneous orgasms). The H doesn't know the "contract has been fulfilled" but the h is obviously fully aware, and just wanted to get her rocks on. Tsk tsk. She does get called on it later.

Down the road we learn that the reason for the H's state when he arrived (haggard/stressed) and his prolonged absence was because he was suffering guilt and having second thoughts about making the h fulfill their bargain. Good thing she got eggyos the first time or she might not get to stay married to a husband 21 years her senior who has questionable proclivities, right?

There's other stuff thrown in. We get a smattering of OW, where a beautiful distant cousin comes for Christmas and rubs all over the H all night and he takes off with her the next day to shop, knowing the h is threatened by her and hates her guts. Bad move on his part because, after spending until the wee hours having simultaneous orgasms, the h is convinced that she's being used for sex, proving that he's a user scumbag, which then leads to her having another I-hate-you melt down. She's lying, naturally, but it still sends the H off again, for three months this time.

But he comes back just in time (the night of!) for the premature (6 weeks!) home birth of his son. After assisting with the delivery, he proceeds to do all kinds of suspicious whispering and nanny hiring that convinces the h that he's getting ready to toss her to the curb. She shouldn't have worried, though, because this is where we find out that the H has...ready for it?...BEEN IN LOVE WITH HER FOR YEARS! Yeah. That was unexpected.

Apparently the h's father was gambler who was rescued financially the first time by the H when the h was 12 year's old "and still in pigtails." Of course he "didn't feel that way" about her when she was 12, but some time between 12 and 18, he got the hots for her bad and started plotting. In the plans to secure her future, it was stated that he refused to adopt her because that would be too icky due to the way he felt about her. (SNORT!) I guess we now know why he lost it and couldn't hold back their first time.

So there you have it. Except for the suicidal father; the sneaky, coerced marriage; virgin rape; and the almost pedophilia, this wasn't that bad of a read. The long stretches of boredom actually make you appreciate when something finally happens. Trainwreck lovers might find this one entertaining. Gentle palates should stay far away.

[edith · Rating 1 out of 5]

A back and forth relationship.... a never-ending cycle filled with cliches 🤠


I didn't feel anything while reading this, blaaannddd.


"You have the choice - marry me, bear my child, and, in possibly a year, I'll set you free. Deny me that right, and I will not be responsible for the consequences."


The hero didn't fit my image of a deranged, unhinged, excessively obsessed, and close-minded harlequin hero, he was just... normal🌹


"I mean I married you because I loved you, because I wanted to look after you, because I couldn't bear the thought of you alone and lonely, possibly finding someone else before I could tell you how I felt."


Right.

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The utter stupidity of those two.
The hero is 20 years older than the heroine and has a contract with her late father that she has to marry him and produce an heir.
The heroine is 18 and accepts, very reluctantly.
Of course the hero has been in love with her since she was 12. Yes, you understood. He saw her when she was 12 and decided he loved her. I cringe. Luckily he had other women while he waited for her. I think it's the first time I'm glad and happy that the hero wasn't celibate after seeing the heroine!
Only the thought that he, a man of 34, thought of a child of 12 in "that" way makes me sick.
Actually he had other women so we can breath easier.
So when she was 18 and he decided he'd waited enough, he made this stupid blackmail, because it was too difficul to try to woo her and make her fall in love with him, so it's much better marry an angry teenager and threaten to impregnate her. It's the surest way to get her love.
Of course she hated him.
And their first time together? A complete failure. He basically rapes her and then tells her that the first time it's always so painful.
Oh, the charms of this man!
The book is all about the hero trying to have a normal relationship with the teenage, scared-to-death heroine, both of them suffer and are hurt.
We have:
Months of separation, the pregnancy that the poor heroine didn't want and when her child is born she thinks the hero wants to send her away and keep her child as was in the contract.
The hero then confesses all his love, and they are happy together.
Both characters are stupid and unpleasant, the heroine is awful even with her child (she should have refused more strongly to be separated from her child!) the hero is idiot even if he's almost 40, and also a lousy lover, but this is Ann Mather and all the worst is possible.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older hero blackmails 18 year old heroine into marrying him, and he wants an heir. Her father was a gambler and he was in debt to hero so heroine must pay for her father's sins. He takes her to his Greek island and there their MOC becomes real. But they are both in denial and that keeps them apart till the end.

I liked this hero. He was hard but he was vulnerable and it was obvious to me he cared a lot about his wife. He is hurt by her hatred and he tries to stay away from her. Heroine was ok but I can't really love a heroine who is willing to abandon her baby boy in the arms of strangers.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beware the Beast" is the story of Charlotte and Alex.
18 year old young Charlotte is still mourning the tragic death of her father, when her lawyer informs her of her impending fate- the death might have been a suicide, he was under serious debts, and has sold her to his Greek business partner, the 40 year old Alex!
Soon the dark stranger enters the heroine's life, and whisks her away to his island in Greece- under the stipulation that she would marry him and give him an heir in the next year. Trapped in a remote beautiful countryside, the h initially is afraid, but soon realizes the hero fully respects her feelings, that is until a fateful night when they finally give into their passions.
But things are never so easy in life. The heroine has her suspicions, and the hero is subjected to her frequent verbal onslaughts. Can these two find their HEA?
A surprisingly well written May-December romance with an immature heroine, a brooding hero, loads of childish temper tantrums and pushing the hero away, a caring nanna and housekeepers, sweet-non descriptive sex, a rapey wedding night and a creepier back story H apparently saw the heroine when she was 12 and he was 33, and instantly "liked her". However, as per him as she grew the feelings started changing - this was a fun roller coaster ride.
Most HQNs I read in this era have a somewhat similar plot- but Im glad the hero was more understanding than cruel, the OW drama was minimal (She randomly shows up at 70% mark) and except the de-hymenation, we were not subjected to forced sex or bruising kisses.
I enjoyed this story, and their legend too!
SWE/Safe for me faithful after marriage, however he has slept with OW after seeing the heroine- coz you know- SHE WAS A KID
4/5

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Well this one was about a love 8 years in the making.
He wanted her when she was only 12 yuck but he was going to wait for her to grow up.
Then, he bought her from her dad.
He bought her to be his baby mama after she could leave. His plan was to have her have his baby then he would get a nurse for it.
He wanted to be free of any commitment, she was just an incubator.
Not really a good way to start a relationship.
She was young and scared and he did push her into a physical relationship by raping her and then going off on business...WTF!
I did not get that at all.
I did not understand if he loved her why he did not confess then.
He was wrong and he just glossed over the whole thing.
I don't understand how it was okay for husband to just rape their wifes back then.
This was not an easy read and not one I would recommend. The fact that the sex was mostly fade to black, really helps here.
Recommend only for those who enjoy who's your baby mama drama!

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hero forced the heroine to marry him and produce an heir because her father owned him money from gambling debts. Since he died and couldn't pay them, she would pay for her fathers crimes with marriage and her body. Little did she know they were both falling in love with each other.

The book was alright but the hero was kind of an asshole. I mean she's pregnant in half of the book and he's a total dick to her, doesn't consider her feelings. It made me sad reading that. The heroine was quite the victim in this novel but in a way she let herself be one.

[Brian Sirith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Mysterious is the mind of our hero Alex but he's hot and crazy enough to be forgiven. Our heroine Charlotte is justifiable a bit slow on understanding that Alex is absolutely smitten with her. For once I'd say she was justified, she's young and he hides it behind a dumb would-only-work-in-a-novel excuse. Up until the later chapters, of course, where the guy is practically oozing pink hearts and begging for approval from her and she won't take a hint.

The age gap is huge, which I loved. The chars bicker a bit too much but its not unpleasant and I could buy their HEA. How Alex first saw her and how he fell in love is the subject of legendary -but amazing- wtfery. One of the good AMs :)

[lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is 2 things I want to talk about
1/ I was uncomfortable with him liking and loving her at the age of 12 !!! Him 33 !!! OMG
That's a big No for me 🙅‍♀️
On the other hand 👇
2/ after their marriage he was definitely not a Beast ! He was the opposite kind generous patient and loving 😐 yes I know it's complicated !
The h annoyed me she was sp childish and has no clue what she Wants 🙄

[Farah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 70's were sure different Alex and Charlotte were hateful characters and their relationship was dull and depressing. I despised Alex and wasn't keen on Charlotte either. The whole thing was just exhausting and bad.

[Aou · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was slow and boring because they’re spending too much time apart.

[Sassafrass · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny reading this "contemporary romance" 36 years later. With the Hi-Fi and culotte suits, I was transported back in time.

While this was supposed to be a bit of a spin off of beauty and the beast, I felt like I couldn't get over the fact that this 40 yr old man blackmailed an 18 yr old girl into marriage and sex. It doesn't matter that he turned out to be honorable from the beginning. It just didn't sit right with me, so I had a hard time with the romance and the whole HEA when the situation was brought up. When I didn't think about I enjoyed the story ok. But inevitably the story would come back to the forced marriage and I felt icky again.

Keep in mind this took place in the 1970's not the 1770's so women weren't supposed to be
Property to be bought and sold.

Ok. I'm off my soapbox now. :)

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Anne Mather... period! No apologies.... I adore her stories!

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was released in 1977. I was just finishing up 2nd grade unaware that in a couple of months I would blasted away by the most fantastic movie I had ever seen in my young life(Star Wars!) I was in awe of my 2nd grade teacher who was the poster girl for everything 70’s …young, blonde, hip, and engaged. At this point, Harlequins were something my best friend’s mom had stacks of, but at that point I was playing with Barbie’s. Anyhoo, I really like to go find some of these old HP’s, because they can get away with things that the newer ones can’t. A lot of times they work. Beware the Beast is one of those that works for me despite some of its dubious content.

.
Charlotte, our 18 year old virgin heroine has just lost her father in a boating accident(suicide?) She has had a fairly privileged life, but after her mother died some years before, her father found it easier to send Charlotte to boarding schools. She was able to traipse after him on some of his adventures, but was treated more as a hindrance(if only she were a boy!) Unbeknownst to Charlotte her father had a gambling problem; a serious gambling problem. The solicitor of her father’s estate informs Charlotte, that on one occasion her father decided to offer her, his daughter, as a gambling chip. This is where our 39 year old hero, (resplendent in gold medallions and rings 🤢)enters the picture. He is ready to cash in her father’s debts which means she is to marry him and give him an heir. Once he has an heir, he will set her up and release her, debt paid in full.

Our h is worried she is getting this:


But she was really getting this:
(Seriously, IMO John Stamos is far sexier now then he ever was playing Blackie on General Hospital!) (Full House was never my jam!)

Not surprisingly, our h is in a little bit of a snit over the whole situation(sexy greek or not). I get this. Our very anxious (sexually ready) hero is ready to get this ball a rolling. Our h is not only angry over the situation, but she is a very scared virgin. The H takes her to his island(Greece has like 3000 of them) and wants to make her comfortable. Unfortunately, for him, our h is abrasive and petulant, flinching away from him whenever he is close by. Frustrated the H decides to leave her alone, and not demand his husbandly duties…yet! After a few days of being on Greek ignore, the h gets a little bored. They finally put their difficulties aside in a non sexual attempt to get to know each other. (I thought the pool scene was cute) You can tell the h is starting to warm up to the H but she definitely needs more time. One morning (about 1/2 way through the book) the H wakes her up to tell her he has to leave for NYC. She is distraught that he is leaving her and worried he may get killed like his father was. For the first time, she is sending out signals that she may actually have some feelings for the H. Well, our hero forgetting the old adage “ that absence makes the heart grow fonder” misses the yellow caution light and then totally ignores the red light when the h tells him no. In his mind it is green light go time! Let’s just say her introduction to womanhood was fast, and painful torn nightdress and all. No cuddle time, because he has a helicopter to catch.

Our already angry h is now is now at killing level angry. She feels violated(although she realizes that she may have gone from green light to red light a little too fast), abandoned, and has no intention of a repeat performance with the H. Within 48 hours, the helicopter returns. She is not about to give her husband the satisfaction of greeting him, so she stays inside to finish her lunch. However, it is not the H, it is his right hand man George. Our h is little bitchy with him, and when she disparages the H to George, he gives her quite the dressing down. The H does a lot of good for people and the last thing he needs is an unsupportive, spoiled brat of a wife who can’t even be bothered to go to NYC with her husband(obviously he doesn’t know the circumstances of their marriage). The visit with George has thoroughly set her in her place. Now, she has to go visit the H’s very traditional grandmother who already suspects that all is not what it seems.


While visiting the grandmother, she indicates to the h that it seems like the H may be intentionally staying away. The h starts to think about this, but then she speaks up and puts the grandmother in her place. The grandmother, instead of being offended, is actually impressed with the h’s spirited response and encourages her to call her yada.(Fun fact: the h is introduced to ouzo, and she observes that when you put water in the ouzo it turns into a cloudy color. Since I am a “When in Rome do as the Romans do kind of gal”, I got my ouzo out to try this and it is true!)

6 weeks go by and there is no communication from the H. Meanwhile, the h gets tanned, fills out, and is looking like a bronze goddess. She starts to feel queasy in the morning but doesn’t think much of it since she heard that a woman is only receptive to a mans seed if the experience is enjoyable! The wise woman servant knows right away that the h is pregnant. The h is reluctant to get word to the H.

A few days later the H shows up in the middle of the night looking gaunt and tired. He shows up to the h’s room and immediately falls asleep on her bed. She takes off as much of his clothes as she is able and lays down. Of course by morning she is wrapped in his arms. Her brain tells her to escape, but her body has other ideas. They come together and the h finally knows why people “do it” on a regular basis. However, she is back to letting her brain think over in the morning and she goes to avoid the H. Part of her is actually mad that he successfully impregnated her a few weeks ago on the first try, because she now wants some practice. The other part of her is mad that she has thoughts like this. I think Anne Mather does a good job showing the immaturity and naïveté of the h throughout the story. No, I am not saying the h shouldn’t be upset over her circumstances, but at the same time the main reason she is in this mess is due to her father.(yeah but if the H were a decent man he wouldn’t hold her to it) (I know, but he looks like John Stamos, and has the wealth of Aristotle Onassis so all should be forgiven) Ok I finally know what it feels like to have the contradicting thoughts of the h. Time for another shot of Ouzo…OPA!

So our h throws tantrums left and right. She runs hot and cold. However, in her defense the H knew he was getting a child bride when he married her. She isn’t some submissive little greek girl.

There are several pages of these two arguing back and forth.
Even the grandmother is like you are acting like children

So for some readers, this may get a little old.




But I was sitting back and enjoying the ride. I mean these two go on for pages. Both of them too prideful to do what they really want to do which is to tear off each other’s clothes.

Then, distant cousin Irena arrives with her father. Irina has the body of Sophia Loren and the manners of an alley cat. She flirts and paws at the H dissing the h and he allows it.

Since they have visitors, the H needs to share the room with the h. They have a huge blowout, with the h’s jealousy on full display. This was the catalyst these 2 needed to share a bed and hours upon hours of lovemaking. Since there are 40 pages left in the book, I am pretty sure we have not weathered the storm yet! Oh look at that there’s the storm…

The next morning the h awakes feeling sated and content. Then she finds out that the H has taken the cousin to the mainland for shopping(he took George as well, but our child bride didn’t realize that) Even though the H told her that Irena is no competition for the h, she has decided she wants to live out the remainder of their marriage in London. If the H did not have grey hair before he married the h, he does now! She tells him hateful things and pushes him away. I am pretty sure there is a picture of the h in the dictionary next to the phrase “cut off ones nose to spite one’s face” The H tells her she is not going to London, BUT he will leave her until the baby is born. In his place he will have a nurse and doctor on site. Until then he will sleep in the dressing room. She tells him as her husband he can share her bed, but he is like “ no thanks, I don’t need a pity bed”
It’s Christmas and the h is sick in bed, she hasn’t seen the H since their blowout. He presents her with a puppy as a Christmas gift(she loves animals and once said her dad had to get rid of a beloved dog of hers) She is overwhelmed and he tells her, NO biggie, think of it as a memento or a parting gift. Then he leaves….January turns into February…. The h spends her time with the puppy, and the grandmother has put distance between them, not happy with the state of her grandson’s marriage. The h asks the cook to teach her how to make authentic Greek dishes.

At the end of March, George the right hand man comes for a visit. He is there to unofficially check on the h. He also informs her that Alex is pushing himself to an early grave and she should invite him back to the island. The h tells him that he doesn’t know the circumstances of their marriage….Whereas he tells her he does and he knows even more…..yet he is cagey about the circumstances of her fathers gambling and what happened 8 years prior after her mom’s death. He tells her to contact the solicitor in London. But our little h is true to form, and she remains in her self imposed snit…..IT is now May and still no contact with the H. She decides to visit the grandmother who is very disappointed in her. The grandmother says something about the H loving her and that is why he waited all this time to get married….(our h is like, I met him 8 mos ago) She is very flummoxed.

She takes a nap and is surprised to find that Alex has arrived. He massages her back when he sees she is in pain. She gets a little too into it and he has to tell HER to knock it off. The h has his hands on her stomach and he is so tortured. He begs her not to send him away….She ends up going into premature labor(approximately 6 weeks early) Thank goodness there is a midwife on hand and the baby seems to be perfect!

We are nearing the end of the story, and our little h is worried she is going to get her walking papers.(seriously, she has not picked up on the H’s love for her at all, of course he has been gone most of their marriage!) Then she overhears the H arguing with the nurse about getting the baby on a bottle asap. This doesn’t bode well for the h staying on. Seriously the baby is several weeks old now and these 2 have still not had a heart to heart talk. I was getting very worried about the page count left on this HP.

Finally, the truth comes out. The H has loved her since she was 12(I know! But…..Twilight had all that imprinting crap and what not so I can let this go…..) Anyhoo, he said he entered the contract with her father to keep her safe. He was waiting for her to grow up.(well, he had some meaningless dalliances along the way to keep the pipes working and what not) They have their avowals of love…..but wait…there is more. Alex leaves to take care of something and George is left with the h. He tells her more about the circumstances of her father…I won’t go into details, but lets just say the H can be forgiven his pervy tendencies. When the H walks back into the room he has a very enthusiastic wife(she doesn’t tell him what she learned from George) So why did the H want the baby on a bottle? His wife has been cleared for action and he is ready to take her away so he can have her to himself. Which means the baby is probably going to have his own HP someday as a H who can’t love because his parents were too into each other and died in a tragic skeet shooting incident while on one of their alone time get aways…..



Anyhow, this was actually a fun vintage read for me. It won’t be for everyone, but I really enjoy a ott in love H and his clueless heroine!

[Noël Cades · Rating 4 out of 5]

So let's be honest: there's only one reason we all read a book like this. It's for the Big Wedding Night/consummation scene. Because it's a forced, arranged marriage by domineering older man Alex, and the heroine, Toni, is a typically timid virgin.

We all want to know what happens. That's why we skim over the dubious and spurious waffle as to how putting up your daughter's hand in marriage as security for a loan is somehow legal in the UK. (Which it's not, whether in the 1970s or at any other time. And we all know that. And Anne Mather knows it). But we grant her some artistic licence, because we're not here for realism. We're here, because whenever we find out someone had an arranged marriage, our first question is always: what was the wedding night like?.

Anne Mather makes us wait until page 87, about half-way through the book for our answer. Which is rape. Sheer, unadultered, 100% coerced, rape. Not ravishment. Not "forced seduction". Not anything on the BDSM spectrum. It's rape. And it's agony. Here's the scene, if you want to read it (click to enlarge):



We'll just remind ourselves that Toni is a teenage virgin and and Alex is over forty, "old enough to be her father" as he himself admits. We later find out that supposedly he first saw her when she was 12, and "a skinny slip of a schoolgirl", and he was 33. And then:

"But as you grew older, my feelings changed. But you were still much too young. You still are. But God help me, I'm a man, not a saint! And I wanted you. I still do."

When? Toni has never met Alex or seen him before in her life before he turns up on her doorstep announcing that he owns her. Has he been stalking her and spying on her from afar? It makes little sense, but it's hellishly creepy.

So there you have it. Naturally it turns out that Toni gets pregnant, and there's plenty of drama about this, and each thinking the other wants a divorce, but of course she Stockholm Syndromed herself "in love" with him.

If the hero couldn't be even more of a shit, he later forces her to stop breastfeeding and switch the baby to bottle feeding, so he can "get you to myself". Granted this was written in the 1970s when breastfeeding and support for breastfeeding were at an all-time low in the UK. But Charlotte doesn't even want to stop breastfeeding. Anyway, that part struck a particularly unsettling note for me, as if the earlier stuff wasn't bad enough.

Do I recommend this one? Yes, if you're a fan of age gap, Anne Mather, and you can cope with THAT scene.

[Jasbell76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 🌟

[Bryanna Nicole]

I have a headache after reading this. That's how I feel.

[Se Mcgregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first ever M&B so it will always hold special memories for me. I was under 10 when it was written and I think around 16 when I read it. I remember crying when the hero left her on the island! Every teenager's fantasy to be swept away to another country where she doesn't speak the language isn't it?

On a side note, I knew someone back then, she was 13 and went from UK to Greece to marry her 30+ y/o boyfriend (navy man). Her mother allowed her to go! Marriages of older men to much younger women girls was quite acceptable. Last seen popping out her 8th child, in as many years.

The story itself I see as a reflection of the times. What was acceptable a few decades ago, is no longer the case today (rightly so). Harlequin/M&B authors of this time wrote what the audience wanted. I remember having a debate back then in my book club. The general consensus was that Alex being obsessed with Charlotte from when she was a young girl, was quite sweet.

Where are Alex and Charlotte today? That's what I want to know! (not much of a review I know, more of a comment on the story)

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unbelievable that a hotblooded Mediterranean man loved h for so long yet after they got married he didn't do anything (other than leaving her alone for months at a time) to make the h love him in return. In fact, until the very end of the book H and h were together only for about two weeks altogether.

[رومولا الن emmajain-book · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية ممتعه

[Myrna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh!

The immature girl out of schoolroom is forced into marriage by the Greek tycoon she's never met. She pushes him out of his own island and he's left begging for permission to come back.

[Lucimar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esse livro li há vários atrás, Anne Mather , foi uma autora que fez parte de minha adolescência. E este me marcou muito porque sempre gostei do tema homem mais velho. Alex Faulkner, um homem rico e poderoso, que por conta dos negócios que tem com o pai de Charlotte, força-a a se casar com ele. Só isso é o bastante para que a rebelde Charlotte, passe a odiá-lo. Alex leva Charlotte para a ilha dele e lhe diz que deseja ter um filho. Embora se recusando a princípio a se entregar a ele, Charlotte permite que Alex se aproxime dela, e pouco depois engravida, embora o repudie. Mas o tempo passa e a medida que vai conhecendo-o sabe que será impossível esconder que se apaixonou por seu algoz-alguém que ela considera responsável pela morte de seu pai. Mas aparentemente há segredos que devem vir a tona para que esse amor desabroche. Leitura ultra romântica, água-com-açúcar. Leitura leve e gostosa.

[⛅️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

قرأتها لروايات أحلام .
رواية بكل اختصار (ترفع الضغط)
البطلة متسرعة وماتعطي فرصة وماتفكر قبل ماتتصرف وماتقدر الامومة.
والبطل ماعنده شخصية وكأنه يفرض نفسه بأي طريقة غلط.
واكثر شي مزعج في الرواية هو فارق العمر ! 19 سنة فرق !
حسيت إني اقرا رواية عن عقدة لوليتا !

[Yayita]

Meh.

[Xai Xai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read for a vintage. Hero falls in fondness fondness with 12 year heroine. Finances her teenage life and fell in love with her when she emerges into adulthood without her knowledge. Creepy huh? Only when one reads the story you would recognise he is genuinely in love with her. Her 18 to his almost 40 is weird but their age gap wasn't as pronounced as the immaturity of the heroine. She was naive and very volatile.She had spunk which can be irritating to any mature adult. To which the hero was no exception, he chose to stay away. In fact, the h was ignorant of the financial assistance paid by the hero during her years of growing up due to her failing gambler of a father. So the story revolves around the heroine believed the hero is her enemy when her father commits suicide and there was a contract by her father making her an asset to the hero. Instead of making her his mistress he married her and she had been fighting him and herself until she got pregnant and maturity emerged. Cool read ! Some sparks were needed but the book held my attention to the end.

[Last Chance Saloon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Anne Mather with a hero that is not/has not been married!! Ok, he is 39 to her 18, but he’s a pretty decent sort of guy and madly in love with her (although she’s a bit dim and cannot see it). But hey, he blackmails her into marrying him so she has a reason to be focused on other matters. As well as the fact that she spends only one day away from the island in the first 9 months of the marriage and sees no one but his grandmother and his employees.
There’s lots of drama as he doesn’t make it easy for her to fall for him. There are NO OM in the story and the only OW is a cousin of sorts that flirts with him and he dances with her to make the heroine jealous (and it works, but backfires the next day!).
I’m not always keen on the Greek older man scenario (he is Greek/English), because often they are really just man whites. But I really enjoyed this one and he’ll never cheat on her, no matter how many work trips he takes.
4 1/2 stars.

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cada vez estoy más convencida de que estas novelas románticas expresan el espíritu de su época: una mujer joven,recién salida de la escuela, obligada a casarse con un atractivo (pero peludo) hombre veinte años mayor. Sumemos un paisaje paradisíaco y muchas emociones. Una fórmula exitosa. Creo que para esa época que un hombre de 33 años tome un interés particular en la vida de una niña de 12 podría parecer romántico (una pareja destinada y eso) pero para los estándares actuales, resulta un tanto creepy.
En este caso, la novela se presenta como una versión moderna de la bella y la bestia, planteando también una marcada intertextualidad con una leyenda griega. Sin embargo, el padre no era tan bueno y la bestia siempre estuvo velando por la bella.

[Tenaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. Way too big of an age gap and the circumstances were…weird. Anne Mather is such a good author so she painted an interesting picture of this remote Greek island, that was interesting. I liked the grandmother. But yet…this book was written in a different era and stuff like this doesn’t fly anymore and for good reason.

SPOILER: Him noticing her when she was only TWELVE?!?! Sure, it says at first he said only felt sorry for her, but “as she got older” his feelings changed. That’s still too damn young! I’m trying to give him the biggest most generous benefit of the doubt here, but come on. Ick.