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小麦色の季節
He was sure of himself, she was full of doubtsElisa had made the most of her summer rest on Corfu--sketching tourists on the beach. Then, just as she was ready to move on, she met Penny Sinclair, and her life turned upside down.Left unexpectedly without a nanny for his daughter, Penny, Rafe Sinclair had no qualms about ruthlessly organizing Elisa for the job--emotionally blackmailing her into becoming part of Rafe's uneasy household--whether she liked it or not.But all three of them got rather more than they bargained for...
Paperback Shinsho
First published May 1, 1989
29 people want to read
About the author
Anne Beaumont
15 books7 followersAnne Beaumont lives on the Isle of Wight, England, UK, with its sparkling white beaches, and has three children, of whom she is immensely proud. In addition to Rosina Pyatt's historical romance novels, the author also has written contemporary romance novels as Anne Beaumont.
She started out as a Jill-of-allwriting-trades, but she says it was her experience as a magazine fiction editor, buying stories and condensing them for serialization, that taught her to separate the bones of a story from the flesh. ln her own writing she starts with her characters—-“a heroine I can identify with, then a hero who seems right for her." She says that many writers work in reverse—plot first, then characters. "That's fine," she says. 'If we all had the same method, we might all be writing the same books, and what a crashing bore that would be!"
She started out as a Jill-of-allwriting-trades, but she says it was her experience as a magazine fiction editor, buying stories and condensing them for serialization, that taught her to separate the bones of a story from the flesh. ln her own writing she starts with her characters—-“a heroine I can identify with, then a hero who seems right for her." She says that many writers work in reverse—plot first, then characters. "That's fine," she says. 'If we all had the same method, we might all be writing the same books, and what a crashing bore that would be!"
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2017
Re That Special Touch - Anne Beaumont's first of two HP voyages takes place on the isle of Corfu. The h is a 25 yr. old art teacher taking a year long sabbatical and trying to be a free spirit while she recovers from an inappropriate infatuation with the husband of one of her friends while the woman was preggers and the hubby started trying to get closer to the h. (I put this here cause it may throw some people off, you don't actually find out what is up with the h until much later in the book.)
She befriends a little girl whose father is a judgmental and rather verbally nasty guy who has a tendency to judge all women by the skeevyness of his late wife. Unfortunately the h has the same underlying 'sensuous self confidence' that the H's dead wife, whom he divorced, had and while she was a promiscuous and money grabbing tart, the h is just naturally friendly and outgoing and still a virgin.
We get H pov of this one, so we know when the two meet that they are mutually chemically attracted, but his assumptions and statements that she is a tart and her irritation that a complete stranger would judge her on looks and some unconscious way of carrying herself really start the sparks flying between the two.
In fact this book is practically the love child of Leigh Michael's bickering battling for dominance couples and Charlotte Lamb's intense self analysis. For the most part the verbal back and forth in this one is way better than Leigh Michael's characters and the intense analysis works really well in the context of the story. The H is not physically confrontational for most of the book, but he gets some serious verbal punches in with his nasty comments and the h is actually intelligent and manages to smash those comments right back. But she isn't spiteful or meanly vicious, her rebuttals of his assumptions are done in the manner that any well reasoned adult female would take in the face of some severe misogyny. The h makes some really pithy and honestly painful comments toward the H of her own, and a lot of their back and forth is quite funny.
The little girl is unnaturally repressed, the H thinks it is because when he and the girl's mother divorced, the mother took the girl to the US and interfered in their relationship to the extent that the little girl appears to be quite frightened of him. The H desperately wanted his daughter, but lost full custody and the little girl became a weapon to use by the bitter, shunned wife when the H divorced her for adultery. The girl's mother dumped the little one on a nanny and the nanny has pretty much raised her. Now the nanny has appendicitis and has to go back to England for surgery, so the H needs someone to watch his daughter.
The H is a 35ish architect that runs an international architectural firm. He is in the middle of a big deal and can't take the time off to care for his daughter as she needs. Plus the little girl seems to be very frightened of him, but she really hit it off with the h and she asks her father to get the h to watch her. The H is desperate to bring his little girl out of her unnatural reserve and make a connection with her. So he pretty much kidnaps the h and then guilts her into being the girl's nanny. The h recognizes a dangerous attraction when she sees it and tries to leave the area, but the H's absolute determination to make his child happy and give her what she wants, plus the little girl's pleas and sadness make the h accept the nannying position for a few weeks.
The H was even willing to prostitute himself, cause he thinks the h is a man eater hussy, if that is what it took to get the h to stay. I have to say that is an absolute first and I think only time in HPlandia that an H was willing to lie back and think of England if it got him what he wanted. It was an interesting twist and needless to say, the h completely rejects that offer right out of hand and a with a hard smack to the cheek to boot.
Over the weeks that follow the H is getting more and more attracted to the h and she is falling right back. But the H has a LOT of baggage from his ex wife and his daughter is blossoming under the h's care. More than once the H decides that the h has "that special touch" that is helping his little girl address her fears but he can't trust himself enough to get involved with the h himself, his conniving woman radar is all messed up.
Eventually it comes out that the little girl's nanny has been threatening and manipulating the little girl to keep her cushy lifestyle and position in the H's home, much like an abusive husband would do to control his wife. The H fires the nanny and she never appears on the page, so we get no nanny confrontation, tho we don't really need one.
Instead we get the interfering biddy of a mother of the one of the H's female friends. The biddy makes the same assumptions about the h, based on appearances, that the H did and she also warns the h off the H, because she has got him earmarked for her widowed daughter, who also has a small son about the little girl's age. The h thinks her love is hopeless, cause as soon as the OW appears the H reverts back to his nasty remarks and eventually the H and his daughter make a big breakthrough in their relationship and the h feels it is time to go.
The H and h wind up having a night of passion and the H proposes, but he messes up and makes it sound like he is marrying her to for his daughter and not because he even likes her. The h lies and says she was just using him for a sub for the guy she used to be infatuated with, (Nothing happened, the h recognized her feelings were skewed and left so the OM would turn back to his wife and new baby.) So the H loses his mind and we get a semi forced seduction that ends in big declarations of love.
The H apologizes for being such a nematode, but saves himself from slime slurper nematode parasitehood by explaining that he was just so jealous every time anyone even looked at the h, he lost his few remaining brain cells. The H also explains that the OW isn't an OW, her mother wants them to be, cause the H is rich and things, but there is no spark, nor has there ever been and the two of them do some business together but are definitely NOT each other's type. Since we got a lot of H POV while this was going on, the explanations are believable. The h avows her love back and the H proposes, properly, with I love you's for the big HP HEA.
For so little actually happening action-wise, this is a pretty good book. But only if you like to delve into motivations and character and don't mind some pithy verbal bickering. AB does a really good job of getting into the H and h's heads without getting boring and she does a great job of keeping the story moving along. It isn't an angstfest wrecki galore, but it is a solid story and the verbal battles alone are worth the read and a trip to HPlandia.
She befriends a little girl whose father is a judgmental and rather verbally nasty guy who has a tendency to judge all women by the skeevyness of his late wife. Unfortunately the h has the same underlying 'sensuous self confidence' that the H's dead wife, whom he divorced, had and while she was a promiscuous and money grabbing tart, the h is just naturally friendly and outgoing and still a virgin.
We get H pov of this one, so we know when the two meet that they are mutually chemically attracted, but his assumptions and statements that she is a tart and her irritation that a complete stranger would judge her on looks and some unconscious way of carrying herself really start the sparks flying between the two.
In fact this book is practically the love child of Leigh Michael's bickering battling for dominance couples and Charlotte Lamb's intense self analysis. For the most part the verbal back and forth in this one is way better than Leigh Michael's characters and the intense analysis works really well in the context of the story. The H is not physically confrontational for most of the book, but he gets some serious verbal punches in with his nasty comments and the h is actually intelligent and manages to smash those comments right back. But she isn't spiteful or meanly vicious, her rebuttals of his assumptions are done in the manner that any well reasoned adult female would take in the face of some severe misogyny. The h makes some really pithy and honestly painful comments toward the H of her own, and a lot of their back and forth is quite funny.
The little girl is unnaturally repressed, the H thinks it is because when he and the girl's mother divorced, the mother took the girl to the US and interfered in their relationship to the extent that the little girl appears to be quite frightened of him. The H desperately wanted his daughter, but lost full custody and the little girl became a weapon to use by the bitter, shunned wife when the H divorced her for adultery. The girl's mother dumped the little one on a nanny and the nanny has pretty much raised her. Now the nanny has appendicitis and has to go back to England for surgery, so the H needs someone to watch his daughter.
The H is a 35ish architect that runs an international architectural firm. He is in the middle of a big deal and can't take the time off to care for his daughter as she needs. Plus the little girl seems to be very frightened of him, but she really hit it off with the h and she asks her father to get the h to watch her. The H is desperate to bring his little girl out of her unnatural reserve and make a connection with her. So he pretty much kidnaps the h and then guilts her into being the girl's nanny. The h recognizes a dangerous attraction when she sees it and tries to leave the area, but the H's absolute determination to make his child happy and give her what she wants, plus the little girl's pleas and sadness make the h accept the nannying position for a few weeks.
The H was even willing to prostitute himself, cause he thinks the h is a man eater hussy, if that is what it took to get the h to stay. I have to say that is an absolute first and I think only time in HPlandia that an H was willing to lie back and think of England if it got him what he wanted. It was an interesting twist and needless to say, the h completely rejects that offer right out of hand and a with a hard smack to the cheek to boot.
Over the weeks that follow the H is getting more and more attracted to the h and she is falling right back. But the H has a LOT of baggage from his ex wife and his daughter is blossoming under the h's care. More than once the H decides that the h has "that special touch" that is helping his little girl address her fears but he can't trust himself enough to get involved with the h himself, his conniving woman radar is all messed up.
Eventually it comes out that the little girl's nanny has been threatening and manipulating the little girl to keep her cushy lifestyle and position in the H's home, much like an abusive husband would do to control his wife. The H fires the nanny and she never appears on the page, so we get no nanny confrontation, tho we don't really need one.
Instead we get the interfering biddy of a mother of the one of the H's female friends. The biddy makes the same assumptions about the h, based on appearances, that the H did and she also warns the h off the H, because she has got him earmarked for her widowed daughter, who also has a small son about the little girl's age. The h thinks her love is hopeless, cause as soon as the OW appears the H reverts back to his nasty remarks and eventually the H and his daughter make a big breakthrough in their relationship and the h feels it is time to go.
The H and h wind up having a night of passion and the H proposes, but he messes up and makes it sound like he is marrying her to for his daughter and not because he even likes her. The h lies and says she was just using him for a sub for the guy she used to be infatuated with, (Nothing happened, the h recognized her feelings were skewed and left so the OM would turn back to his wife and new baby.) So the H loses his mind and we get a semi forced seduction that ends in big declarations of love.
The H apologizes for being such a nematode, but saves himself from slime slurper nematode parasitehood by explaining that he was just so jealous every time anyone even looked at the h, he lost his few remaining brain cells. The H also explains that the OW isn't an OW, her mother wants them to be, cause the H is rich and things, but there is no spark, nor has there ever been and the two of them do some business together but are definitely NOT each other's type. Since we got a lot of H POV while this was going on, the explanations are believable. The h avows her love back and the H proposes, properly, with I love you's for the big HP HEA.
For so little actually happening action-wise, this is a pretty good book. But only if you like to delve into motivations and character and don't mind some pithy verbal bickering. AB does a really good job of getting into the H and h's heads without getting boring and she does a great job of keeping the story moving along. It isn't an angstfest wrecki galore, but it is a solid story and the verbal battles alone are worth the read and a trip to HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2017
The hero...a blonde one. Never a good sign as they are the inversion of all that is good.
One, the heroine, a Brit lolling around in Corfu, is going to get skin cancer which is one way to sweep to an ending, and, two, that special touch the title refers to must be a slap in the face.
PLOT:
Eliza, the h has fled England for a year long flight in order to escape an emotional affair with a friend's husband. It's not as bad as it sounds since she did the honorable thing and left the whole country.
The h is rolling around on the beach with a handsome male friend when the H walks by with his daughter. Unfortunate, as the h's way about her reminds the H of his dastardly dead ex-wife who was very adulterous. In all fairness to the H, most people would look a little askance at a girl in a swimsuit rolling around with a guy, but the H is an extra special suspicious kind of guy. It's too bad as his shutdown little girl takes a fancy to Elisa. When the wet blanket many ends up with appendicitis, the H virtually kidnaps and emotionally blackmails the h into being the new nanny. He accomplishes it by telling her she gets to break the news to his daughter. Crafty SOB. Elisa can't do it as the little girl is thrilled she's there and won't have anything to do with the dad.
Elisa takes in her nanny duties and the little girl blossoms. She also opens up to her dad, and it becomes clear that the dead mother and the nanny had worked her over emotionally. Well done part of the story, and the little girl is more than a plot moppet.
The H fluctuates between being nasty and nice, repelled and attracted to the h. She is on a roller coaster of emotion as well not knowing if she's rebounding from Austyn, her ex love, or if she is really falling in love with Mr. Cranky Pants. A beautiful, talented, and sensitive (and I am sure boring) female friend of the family makes an appearance to make the h jealous, but she knows it will be okay as the H and the family friend share so much...eye roll.
The evening before the h is to leave, she and the H find themselves alone and passion strikes. He is surprised to find out she a whole lot more innocent than he thought. One last set of miscommunication and HEA.
Pretty good old-school story. These are certainly better written than some of the newer ones as the heroine inner emoting actually resembles real human thought and feeling. Almost a 4 star.
Great use of setting, but the best books set on Corfu are
and
.
One, the heroine, a Brit lolling around in Corfu, is going to get skin cancer which is one way to sweep to an ending, and, two, that special touch the title refers to must be a slap in the face.
PLOT:
Eliza, the h has fled England for a year long flight in order to escape an emotional affair with a friend's husband. It's not as bad as it sounds since she did the honorable thing and left the whole country.
The h is rolling around on the beach with a handsome male friend when the H walks by with his daughter. Unfortunate, as the h's way about her reminds the H of his dastardly dead ex-wife who was very adulterous. In all fairness to the H, most people would look a little askance at a girl in a swimsuit rolling around with a guy, but the H is an extra special suspicious kind of guy. It's too bad as his shutdown little girl takes a fancy to Elisa. When the wet blanket many ends up with appendicitis, the H virtually kidnaps and emotionally blackmails the h into being the new nanny. He accomplishes it by telling her she gets to break the news to his daughter. Crafty SOB. Elisa can't do it as the little girl is thrilled she's there and won't have anything to do with the dad.
Elisa takes in her nanny duties and the little girl blossoms. She also opens up to her dad, and it becomes clear that the dead mother and the nanny had worked her over emotionally. Well done part of the story, and the little girl is more than a plot moppet.
The H fluctuates between being nasty and nice, repelled and attracted to the h. She is on a roller coaster of emotion as well not knowing if she's rebounding from Austyn, her ex love, or if she is really falling in love with Mr. Cranky Pants. A beautiful, talented, and sensitive (and I am sure boring) female friend of the family makes an appearance to make the h jealous, but she knows it will be okay as the H and the family friend share so much...eye roll.
The evening before the h is to leave, she and the H find themselves alone and passion strikes. He is surprised to find out she a whole lot more innocent than he thought. One last set of miscommunication and HEA.
Pretty good old-school story. These are certainly better written than some of the newer ones as the heroine inner emoting actually resembles real human thought and feeling. Almost a 4 star.
Great use of setting, but the best books set on Corfu are
and
.
August 12, 2021
It’s an okay read.
She is a 25-year old backpacker travelling around to forget her love for a married man. She meets the H who has a traumatized little daughter. After some bickering with the H she becomes the nanny.
After a while he makes love to her. She was a virgin until then. The morning after she claims that she made love because she was thinking about that married man. Ouch. So he runs off but he comes back and he seduces her and she has to say his name all the time.
She is the typical blonde bombshell HP h. Almost all HP h’s are blondes. I just couldn’t warm up to her.
He is a nice man and a sweet dad to his daughter, so nothing wrong with him. I actually don’t like HP’s in which one of them (or both) already has children by someone else, but this one was okay.
She is a 25-year old backpacker travelling around to forget her love for a married man. She meets the H who has a traumatized little daughter. After some bickering with the H she becomes the nanny.
After a while he makes love to her. She was a virgin until then. The morning after she claims that she made love because she was thinking about that married man. Ouch. So he runs off but he comes back and he seduces her and she has to say his name all the time.
She is the typical blonde bombshell HP h. Almost all HP h’s are blondes. I just couldn’t warm up to her.
He is a nice man and a sweet dad to his daughter, so nothing wrong with him. I actually don’t like HP’s in which one of them (or both) already has children by someone else, but this one was okay.
October 31, 2017
Nothing really special.
October 10, 2023
First I've read by this author and I have to say I really liked her style. I also really liked this h, backpacking former art teacher Elisa, who had just the right mix of independence of spirit, courage, kind practicality and emotional vulnerability to appeal to me. The H, divorced (adulterous wife now dead, repressed and traumatised 6 yr old daughter Penny now living with him) architect RDesque bastard Rafe also appealed to me - I like them mean 😁
This was set on Corfu, leisurely in pace and with lots of emotional exploration which I don't always like but in this case it was threaded with so much sexual awareness it kept me enthralled. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's a probable reread.
This was set on Corfu, leisurely in pace and with lots of emotional exploration which I don't always like but in this case it was threaded with so much sexual awareness it kept me enthralled. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's a probable reread.
May 28, 2019
This book gave me some moments and slightly icky vibes.
Plus theres no way in this day and age you'd leave your kid to wander around a holiday resort its just asking for trouble.
The h comes across as incredibly childish, sometimes her lifestyle is more student than teacher but the crush she had on her bezzies husband was all kinds of tacky and made me not a massive fan of her despite her unicorn grooming© naivety.
The H takes complete advantage of her kindness roping her into looking after the plot moppet who is actually traumatised and abused by her nanny.
Neither MC's have stellar characters to make you REALLY root for them but the H is genuinely desperate to help his daughter so I like him slightly more than our ready to cheat with a married h (the fact it was a friends husband is even more cheaty terribly).
Check out others reviews for more comprehensive spoilers.
©Boogenhagen
Plus theres no way in this day and age you'd leave your kid to wander around a holiday resort its just asking for trouble.
The h comes across as incredibly childish, sometimes her lifestyle is more student than teacher but the crush she had on her bezzies husband was all kinds of tacky and made me not a massive fan of her despite her unicorn grooming© naivety.
The H takes complete advantage of her kindness roping her into looking after the plot moppet who is actually traumatised and abused by her nanny.
Neither MC's have stellar characters to make you REALLY root for them but the H is genuinely desperate to help his daughter so I like him slightly more than our ready to cheat with a married h (the fact it was a friends husband is even more cheaty terribly).
Check out others reviews for more comprehensive spoilers.
©Boogenhagen
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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