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Dark Enemy
Nicola had never met Jason Wilde, but she hated him for the way he had hurt and deceived her sister, and was determined to be revenged on him.
So she worked out a plan that seemed fool-proof. She took a job with the oil company for which Jason worked and managed to get out to Abrhm, the remote post in the middle of the North African desert where he was supervising. Miles from civilization and the company of women, he should, she reasoned, be an easy target. She was not exactly unattractive, and it should not be difficult to make him fall for her - and then walk out of him in just the same way as he had walked out on her sister.
But things did not quite work out in the way Nicola had expected, and fate turned the tables on her neatly and drastically.
So she worked out a plan that seemed fool-proof. She took a job with the oil company for which Jason worked and managed to get out to Abrhm, the remote post in the middle of the North African desert where he was supervising. Miles from civilization and the company of women, he should, she reasoned, be an easy target. She was not exactly unattractive, and it should not be difficult to make him fall for her - and then walk out of him in just the same way as he had walked out on her sister.
But things did not quite work out in the way Nicola had expected, and fate turned the tables on her neatly and drastically.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1972
3 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Anne Mather
799 books360 followersAnne 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 24, 2021
I can't believe Anne Mather wrote this drivel. Reads more like a travelogue than a romance novel. I'm going to excuse it as Mather testing out her writing style as a still-new author in 1972. She did write 160 more books since. Some I really liked.
MEH or the BAD:
Dull & boring with stupid h. Read to DNF this from the 1st 2 pages but kept on because I'm stubborn that way. Until 38%, when I started skipping pages just to get to H&h's romantic interactions. It was apparent that this book was not going to get better. This book is focused on 37yo oil-engineer H & 24yo secretary h's interactions with other people & non-romance details like location, meals, & the oil business. Reads more like a travelogue than a romance novel. Lacked romantic content, even with H&h's personal interactions. They lit & smoked a lot of cigarettes and ate their meals in silence (lots of breakfast food details). When either would actually talk about h's motives for being in the Middle East or H's past romance with h's sister, h frequently evaded, avoided, and deflected when the topic could've gotten deeper. She would start something and then quickly back-off. What a loser! Don't know why she even spent 1 year planning out her revenge against H and even deliberately getting a job with H's boss just to get closer to H, when she couldn't even ask him simple questions about her relationship with her sister.
Unlikeable h who was hardened & manipulative & made lots of stupid decisions. She was passive-aggressive. She was resentful of H for indirectly causing the breakup of her engagement. She blamed H because her fiance (her sister's bro-in-law) ended their engagement because he was distraught that his own brother separated from h's cheating older sister. So instead of being mad at her older sister for cheating on her husband & causing her fiance to break up with her, what does this h do? Devise a long-range plot to get revenge against a distant 3rd party instead. So, she'll seduce H for supposedly seducing her married sister. But, when h is finally in H's personal space, she antagonizes him more than she tries to seduce him. He viewed her as a hard & callous woman from their 1st meeting, with her glaring at him with hate. Not the best seductive moves!
At 38%, H quickly figured out that h was the sister of his married ex-GF from 1 yr ago (because h looked like her older sis & H remembered h's name since her sister mentioned it) & asked h about it & her motives. Passive-aggressive h somewhat denied having non-work motives & then, plotted another revenge plot on H since obviously now H was on to her fake identity. Liked H better than h because he was smarter, more mature, & calmer but he still was no prize. He was too cold & didn't seem to be all that in love or super-attracted to h. She was available but playing hard-to-get and he was bored in the desert, when not working.
They did kiss once but it was an angry kiss H placed on her to stop her dumb moves to entangle the Sheikh that would've jeopardized the oil dealings H had been working on. That kiss was enough to make h fall in love with H later. h didn't seem bothered at all that she was attracted to her sister's ex-boyfriend/lover(?) & H wasn't bothered either. This book lacked sexual & emotional chemistry. Unromantic. Poor characterization. No character development. The book ended with H&h acting & being the same as before they met. Except at the end, they're "I Love You"-ing each other. Don't believe in their HEA.
Stupid resolution with h back in London finding out that her sister is now reunited with her husband, who didn't seem to know the extent of her sister's affair with H. And that pretty much the end of all of h's 1-year planning & scheming. All for nothing. She just went back to work with H's boss, who later proposed marriage to her. Then, H came back to "fight" for h. Lame-o.
Sexual History:
No info who else h dated aside from her ex-fiance who broke up with her after his older bro separated from h's sister. No info if h still a virgin. No info on H's dating or sexual life since he deflected h's questions. He did admit to dating her married older sister though he seemed to not know that she was married until after they were already dating. No info re: what broke up H & her sister's relationship. Or if H finding out that she was married made him stop dating her.
MEH or the BAD:
Dull & boring with stupid h. Read to DNF this from the 1st 2 pages but kept on because I'm stubborn that way. Until 38%, when I started skipping pages just to get to H&h's romantic interactions. It was apparent that this book was not going to get better. This book is focused on 37yo oil-engineer H & 24yo secretary h's interactions with other people & non-romance details like location, meals, & the oil business. Reads more like a travelogue than a romance novel. Lacked romantic content, even with H&h's personal interactions. They lit & smoked a lot of cigarettes and ate their meals in silence (lots of breakfast food details). When either would actually talk about h's motives for being in the Middle East or H's past romance with h's sister, h frequently evaded, avoided, and deflected when the topic could've gotten deeper. She would start something and then quickly back-off. What a loser! Don't know why she even spent 1 year planning out her revenge against H and even deliberately getting a job with H's boss just to get closer to H, when she couldn't even ask him simple questions about her relationship with her sister.
Unlikeable h who was hardened & manipulative & made lots of stupid decisions. She was passive-aggressive. She was resentful of H for indirectly causing the breakup of her engagement. She blamed H because her fiance (her sister's bro-in-law) ended their engagement because he was distraught that his own brother separated from h's cheating older sister. So instead of being mad at her older sister for cheating on her husband & causing her fiance to break up with her, what does this h do? Devise a long-range plot to get revenge against a distant 3rd party instead. So, she'll seduce H for supposedly seducing her married sister. But, when h is finally in H's personal space, she antagonizes him more than she tries to seduce him. He viewed her as a hard & callous woman from their 1st meeting, with her glaring at him with hate. Not the best seductive moves!
At 38%, H quickly figured out that h was the sister of his married ex-GF from 1 yr ago (because h looked like her older sis & H remembered h's name since her sister mentioned it) & asked h about it & her motives. Passive-aggressive h somewhat denied having non-work motives & then, plotted another revenge plot on H since obviously now H was on to her fake identity. Liked H better than h because he was smarter, more mature, & calmer but he still was no prize. He was too cold & didn't seem to be all that in love or super-attracted to h. She was available but playing hard-to-get and he was bored in the desert, when not working.
They did kiss once but it was an angry kiss H placed on her to stop her dumb moves to entangle the Sheikh that would've jeopardized the oil dealings H had been working on. That kiss was enough to make h fall in love with H later. h didn't seem bothered at all that she was attracted to her sister's ex-boyfriend/lover(?) & H wasn't bothered either. This book lacked sexual & emotional chemistry. Unromantic. Poor characterization. No character development. The book ended with H&h acting & being the same as before they met. Except at the end, they're "I Love You"-ing each other. Don't believe in their HEA.
Stupid resolution with h back in London finding out that her sister is now reunited with her husband, who didn't seem to know the extent of her sister's affair with H. And that pretty much the end of all of h's 1-year planning & scheming. All for nothing. She just went back to work with H's boss, who later proposed marriage to her. Then, H came back to "fight" for h. Lame-o.
Sexual History:
No info who else h dated aside from her ex-fiance who broke up with her after his older bro separated from h's sister. No info if h still a virgin. No info on H's dating or sexual life since he deflected h's questions. He did admit to dating her married older sister though he seemed to not know that she was married until after they were already dating. No info re: what broke up H & her sister's relationship. Or if H finding out that she was married made him stop dating her.
August 31, 2025
This was #26 of first 100 HPs. It wasn’t much of a revenge novel. I didn’t see any romance either. More about the area and the different sheikhs.
January 3, 2019
This book just did not make sense as a romance or any type of book really
Read
December 26, 2019Oh, God, this was ridiculously boring...
June 22, 2022
Lido em português, versão lançada pela nova cultural, 1983.
Areias Ardentes.
Areias Ardentes.
March 30, 2021
Nicola had never met Jason Wilde, but she hated him for the way he had hurt and deceived her sister, and was determined to be revenged on him.
So she worked out a plan that seemed fool-proof. She took a job with the oil company for which Jason worked and managed to get out to Abrhm, the remote post in the middle of the North African desert where he was supervising. Miles from civilization and the company of women, he should, she reasoned, be an easy target. She was not exactly unattractive, and it should not be difficult to make him fall for her - and then walk out of him in just the same way as he had walked out on her sister.
But things did not quite work out in the way Nicola had expected, and fate turned the tables on her neatly and drastically.
So she worked out a plan that seemed fool-proof. She took a job with the oil company for which Jason worked and managed to get out to Abrhm, the remote post in the middle of the North African desert where he was supervising. Miles from civilization and the company of women, he should, she reasoned, be an easy target. She was not exactly unattractive, and it should not be difficult to make him fall for her - and then walk out of him in just the same way as he had walked out on her sister.
But things did not quite work out in the way Nicola had expected, and fate turned the tables on her neatly and drastically.
August 14, 2012
Read June 2010.
The heroine wanted revenge for her sister but when it is all lined up to do so, she finds the tables have been turned on her and she will have to be the heroes willing slave. Kinky..
The heroine wanted revenge for her sister but when it is all lined up to do so, she finds the tables have been turned on her and she will have to be the heroes willing slave. Kinky..
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews