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Bennett Family #2
To Love Again
Would she always be "the kid next door"?
Christi was twenty-two to Lucas's thirty-seven. They had lived in adjacent flats for four years now, and though Christi had been in love with her handsome divorced neighbor ever since they'd met, Lucas had treated her with the affection of a big brother.
Christi had tried everything to get him to see her as a desirable woman, like the sophisticated beauties he squired around London. Yet nothing seemed to work.
Until the evening she convinced him to demonstrate to her how a man should kiss. And when he complied, everything changed....
Christi was twenty-two to Lucas's thirty-seven. They had lived in adjacent flats for four years now, and though Christi had been in love with her handsome divorced neighbor ever since they'd met, Lucas had treated her with the affection of a big brother.
Christi had tried everything to get him to see her as a desirable woman, like the sophisticated beauties he squired around London. Yet nothing seemed to work.
Until the evening she convinced him to demonstrate to her how a man should kiss. And when he complied, everything changed....
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
52 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Carole Mortimer
1,301 books911 followersI have written almost 250 romance novels in contemporary and Regency.
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 14, 2016
Re To Love Again - CM continues her Bennett family saga and this one, while it mainly gets average ratings, is truly a ground breaking HP and I put it on the required HP reading list. Not because it is a trainwreck extraordinaire or because there is an OTT situation. In terms of romance this one is pretty straight forward with a May/December trope and the big misunderstanding. In fact this big misunderstanding in TLA has been cause for a lot of criticism. I beg to differ on that statement because when this book was written 30 years ago, it was one of the only books outside of the 'Women's fiction' category that examined the reality of remarriage and blended families.
I am not sure this book gets enough credit for that trope bending plot with modern HP voyagers. But think about it, after the sky rocketing rate of divorce in the 1970's people started moving on in new relationships and often those new relationships included building a life with the offspring of the previous marriage.
Up until now, divorce and kids and parenting had never been a big plot point in HPlandia, H's may have been married before or were still married, but it was always to evil or dead women and any interaction between the h and the former wife was bound to be painful and derogatory. Children were little more than plot moppets there to display how much better the h was in caring for them than anyone else, including the children's actual mother. This one starts out no different. But as the novel progresses and the h and H finally marry and have to contemplate the path of their lives with two stepchildren, new factors take over and the h has to really grow up in a way that isn't usually seen in HPlandia h's.
When the book opens the 22yr old h is bewailing the fact that the h from One Chance at Love has been busy matchmaking and set the h up on a series of dates with eligible older men while the h was on a weekend visit to her best friend, now aunt, and her uncle. She is complaining to the H, who is her next door neighbor and with whom she has been in love with since she moved in right after the sudden death of her archaeologist parents and he comforted her. The H is 15 years older than the h, but she doesn't let that deter her as her best friend married her uncle and there is 14 years between them. (Which was an interesting way of revealing the age difference we did not get in the first book, it was mentioned the H was older, but not how much.)
The H next door has problems of his own of course, and these center around the difficulties between him and his now divorced wife and her manipulation of their children in the relationship between them. The ex wife doesn't openly berate the H as their father, but she does like to use them to punish the H when he doesn't do as she wishes or when she feels she is being unfairly denied material luxuries. The ex is presented as a very mercenary and grasping sort of woman, but CM does point out that she is a good mother, avaristic tendencies aside. The h and H are very close friends and always popping round each other's flat, mainly cause the h is an actress and the H doesn't mind looking after her pets when she has to be places. The h has two cats and a dog and fortunately they all seem to be quite happy in the flat they live in and the H's kids like them.
The h and the ex wife DO NOT get along at all. The ex-wife goes out of her way to be catty and rude and the h is a bit intimidated by how obvious the ex wife can be. There are several instances when the ex wife puts the h down for her unrequited love for the H and the ex even goes so far as to intimate that she and the H are bonging like bonkers when she has the opportunity. The h, who is dealing with a succession of dates that don't seem to be working out for her very well and has to confide in the H how much she isn't feeling the lurve, is getting more and more despondent at the thought of the H with his ex. Until the H goes out of his way in his 'helping the h learn to kiss' lessons and the h thinks he may actually be attracted to her in a non-older brother kinda way.
We also get to meet future H's in the Bennett saga and while it is clear that they will only be friends with this h and her family, we get some good background on them. There is a lot of angst for the h while she is agonizing over her unrequited lurve for the H, until she finds out that the ex-wife is remarrying to another man and the light dawns for the h that the ex-wife was so mean and nasty because she is jealous. In her guise as friend to the H, she spends a lot of time with the H and his children and there are some highly entertaining moments when the h gets her own back over the ex wife. Eventually the H can't contain his punishing roofie kisses passion after seeing the h out with a sequence of men that are his age and the gates of lurve are broken in a transcendent encounter, the outcome being the H proposes and the h enthusiastically says yes.
The h agrees because she is whole-heartedly in love with the H and she tells him that definitively. The H declares that he needs her, but the h is thinking that he needs her as a wife to sue for custody of his kids. The H is not taking the news of a new step-father well at all and it is obviously wearing on him.
The h and H marry and at the wedding we get more insight into the ex wife and what went wrong for the first marriage from her POV. It seems that when the ex and the H married, she had a very high powered career as a fashion editor and the H made her give it up. Then he went off a lot to pursue his mega millions success and it did not seem that he really needed his wife. She had children and those children pretty much became her whole life. She was bitter and resentful of the H and his determination that she do as he dictated and live in the proscribed path he determined, so it is a double blow to the ex when the H announces that he is quite happy to have the h pursuing her acting career, he has no intention of making the same mistakes as he did the first time around.
The ex wife does seem to be really happy with her new love, tho he is short and chubby and nothing like the H, she even lets the kids stay for a month with the H and h while she is off on honeymoon. The h does her best to adapt to the role of stepmum, and it seems to come off fairly well. The h is really concerned about what is going to happen when the H announces he wants full time custody, especially as she suspects she is now preggers herself and thinks that the H doesn't really want anymore kids when he has two of his own to get sorted.
Things come to a head when they are returning the children to the ex wife and her new husband and the ex wife apologizes for the nastiness of the past and seems to genuinely want to create the best environment for the children between the four of them. The h finds herself in deep empathy with the ex as she realizes that taking a child away from a mother who is genuinely devoted to them may not be the best thing and that after the ex lost her career and was put on the back burner by the H while he built his business, her children really were the only thing she had to live for.
The h decides that she has to talk to the H and so in the car on the way back, she asks him when he intends to file for custody. The H has a silent ranty moment and stops the car and walks off in the middle of the street. The h goes home, now really perturbed and waits in agony with the pets milling about for the H to come back a lambaste her. The H returns and apologizes that he has never mentioned that he loved her madly and that was why he married her.
He saw her with all those guys his age, (thus proving the h from the first book a brilliant matchmaker,) and decided the only older guy the h should be boudoir bouncing with was him and he set out to get her. But her age did worry him, he knew he was wrong in confining his wife in his first marriage and he did not want to be that guy again. The H was doing his best to let the h have a lot of life experience and freedom, but in the end he couldn't help himself in his overriding love for the h.
Also, he came to terms with the remarriage and step father in his kids life. The H has no intention of contesting custody, mainly cause he probably wouldn't get it but also because the ex wife is really devoted to her kids even when she behaves badly with adults and since the remarriage, even that behavior has gone by the wayside. Bitterness does tend to make people behave in the worst of ways.
This gives the h hope that the H isn't as adverse to more children as she previously thought, it seems that he wanted to delay kids more for her sake and her career rather than he did not want any or had worries about how his kids would adapt. The h announces her new arrival and the H is delighted, he is also sure that his kids will be happy too, cause they figured you always got babies right after you got married. The story ends in a nice little epilogue with the H and h blissfully in love, a mention of the next H in the series and a new baby girl and the older children all happy at Christmas with the ex wife and her hubby coming to partake in the celebration for a big sweet HP HEA.
So in terms of the romance, this book is pretty average but it is a nice romance and the characters aren't too dramatic, except for the ex at the beginning. Where this one really shines is in the evolution of the ex wife from stereotypical HP evil OW to a working partner in blended families and shared responsibilities for raising children. It is also very notable that the H acknowledges that the typical HP Alpha H kinda way in a marriage may not be the most successful outcome to a lasting relationship. The H for all his Alpha manly HP ways, actually mellows his approach in his desire to have a solid and loving marriage with a fulfilled and loving partner.
We are so used to blended families in this day and age, that CM does seem a little naive and kumbaya in her presentation of the subject, but this really is the very first look at a what a working relationship between former partners and new spouses with children involved should be like in HPlandia. More importantly, it a subject that really hasn't been explored in meaningful depth before this and that makes this book well worth a read and also gets it a place on the must read list for anyone who like to read about the evolution of the HP line as well as getting a believable HEA.
I am not sure this book gets enough credit for that trope bending plot with modern HP voyagers. But think about it, after the sky rocketing rate of divorce in the 1970's people started moving on in new relationships and often those new relationships included building a life with the offspring of the previous marriage.
Up until now, divorce and kids and parenting had never been a big plot point in HPlandia, H's may have been married before or were still married, but it was always to evil or dead women and any interaction between the h and the former wife was bound to be painful and derogatory. Children were little more than plot moppets there to display how much better the h was in caring for them than anyone else, including the children's actual mother. This one starts out no different. But as the novel progresses and the h and H finally marry and have to contemplate the path of their lives with two stepchildren, new factors take over and the h has to really grow up in a way that isn't usually seen in HPlandia h's.
When the book opens the 22yr old h is bewailing the fact that the h from One Chance at Love has been busy matchmaking and set the h up on a series of dates with eligible older men while the h was on a weekend visit to her best friend, now aunt, and her uncle. She is complaining to the H, who is her next door neighbor and with whom she has been in love with since she moved in right after the sudden death of her archaeologist parents and he comforted her. The H is 15 years older than the h, but she doesn't let that deter her as her best friend married her uncle and there is 14 years between them. (Which was an interesting way of revealing the age difference we did not get in the first book, it was mentioned the H was older, but not how much.)
The H next door has problems of his own of course, and these center around the difficulties between him and his now divorced wife and her manipulation of their children in the relationship between them. The ex wife doesn't openly berate the H as their father, but she does like to use them to punish the H when he doesn't do as she wishes or when she feels she is being unfairly denied material luxuries. The ex is presented as a very mercenary and grasping sort of woman, but CM does point out that she is a good mother, avaristic tendencies aside. The h and H are very close friends and always popping round each other's flat, mainly cause the h is an actress and the H doesn't mind looking after her pets when she has to be places. The h has two cats and a dog and fortunately they all seem to be quite happy in the flat they live in and the H's kids like them.
The h and the ex wife DO NOT get along at all. The ex-wife goes out of her way to be catty and rude and the h is a bit intimidated by how obvious the ex wife can be. There are several instances when the ex wife puts the h down for her unrequited love for the H and the ex even goes so far as to intimate that she and the H are bonging like bonkers when she has the opportunity. The h, who is dealing with a succession of dates that don't seem to be working out for her very well and has to confide in the H how much she isn't feeling the lurve, is getting more and more despondent at the thought of the H with his ex. Until the H goes out of his way in his 'helping the h learn to kiss' lessons and the h thinks he may actually be attracted to her in a non-older brother kinda way.
We also get to meet future H's in the Bennett saga and while it is clear that they will only be friends with this h and her family, we get some good background on them. There is a lot of angst for the h while she is agonizing over her unrequited lurve for the H, until she finds out that the ex-wife is remarrying to another man and the light dawns for the h that the ex-wife was so mean and nasty because she is jealous. In her guise as friend to the H, she spends a lot of time with the H and his children and there are some highly entertaining moments when the h gets her own back over the ex wife. Eventually the H can't contain his punishing roofie kisses passion after seeing the h out with a sequence of men that are his age and the gates of lurve are broken in a transcendent encounter, the outcome being the H proposes and the h enthusiastically says yes.
The h agrees because she is whole-heartedly in love with the H and she tells him that definitively. The H declares that he needs her, but the h is thinking that he needs her as a wife to sue for custody of his kids. The H is not taking the news of a new step-father well at all and it is obviously wearing on him.
The h and H marry and at the wedding we get more insight into the ex wife and what went wrong for the first marriage from her POV. It seems that when the ex and the H married, she had a very high powered career as a fashion editor and the H made her give it up. Then he went off a lot to pursue his mega millions success and it did not seem that he really needed his wife. She had children and those children pretty much became her whole life. She was bitter and resentful of the H and his determination that she do as he dictated and live in the proscribed path he determined, so it is a double blow to the ex when the H announces that he is quite happy to have the h pursuing her acting career, he has no intention of making the same mistakes as he did the first time around.
The ex wife does seem to be really happy with her new love, tho he is short and chubby and nothing like the H, she even lets the kids stay for a month with the H and h while she is off on honeymoon. The h does her best to adapt to the role of stepmum, and it seems to come off fairly well. The h is really concerned about what is going to happen when the H announces he wants full time custody, especially as she suspects she is now preggers herself and thinks that the H doesn't really want anymore kids when he has two of his own to get sorted.
Things come to a head when they are returning the children to the ex wife and her new husband and the ex wife apologizes for the nastiness of the past and seems to genuinely want to create the best environment for the children between the four of them. The h finds herself in deep empathy with the ex as she realizes that taking a child away from a mother who is genuinely devoted to them may not be the best thing and that after the ex lost her career and was put on the back burner by the H while he built his business, her children really were the only thing she had to live for.
The h decides that she has to talk to the H and so in the car on the way back, she asks him when he intends to file for custody. The H has a silent ranty moment and stops the car and walks off in the middle of the street. The h goes home, now really perturbed and waits in agony with the pets milling about for the H to come back a lambaste her. The H returns and apologizes that he has never mentioned that he loved her madly and that was why he married her.
He saw her with all those guys his age, (thus proving the h from the first book a brilliant matchmaker,) and decided the only older guy the h should be boudoir bouncing with was him and he set out to get her. But her age did worry him, he knew he was wrong in confining his wife in his first marriage and he did not want to be that guy again. The H was doing his best to let the h have a lot of life experience and freedom, but in the end he couldn't help himself in his overriding love for the h.
Also, he came to terms with the remarriage and step father in his kids life. The H has no intention of contesting custody, mainly cause he probably wouldn't get it but also because the ex wife is really devoted to her kids even when she behaves badly with adults and since the remarriage, even that behavior has gone by the wayside. Bitterness does tend to make people behave in the worst of ways.
This gives the h hope that the H isn't as adverse to more children as she previously thought, it seems that he wanted to delay kids more for her sake and her career rather than he did not want any or had worries about how his kids would adapt. The h announces her new arrival and the H is delighted, he is also sure that his kids will be happy too, cause they figured you always got babies right after you got married. The story ends in a nice little epilogue with the H and h blissfully in love, a mention of the next H in the series and a new baby girl and the older children all happy at Christmas with the ex wife and her hubby coming to partake in the celebration for a big sweet HP HEA.
So in terms of the romance, this book is pretty average but it is a nice romance and the characters aren't too dramatic, except for the ex at the beginning. Where this one really shines is in the evolution of the ex wife from stereotypical HP evil OW to a working partner in blended families and shared responsibilities for raising children. It is also very notable that the H acknowledges that the typical HP Alpha H kinda way in a marriage may not be the most successful outcome to a lasting relationship. The H for all his Alpha manly HP ways, actually mellows his approach in his desire to have a solid and loving marriage with a fulfilled and loving partner.
We are so used to blended families in this day and age, that CM does seem a little naive and kumbaya in her presentation of the subject, but this really is the very first look at a what a working relationship between former partners and new spouses with children involved should be like in HPlandia. More importantly, it a subject that really hasn't been explored in meaningful depth before this and that makes this book well worth a read and also gets it a place on the must read list for anyone who like to read about the evolution of the HP line as well as getting a believable HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2018
It did not turn out the way it seemed it would. The sweet rom com chemistry soon switched to the usual frustrating HP goings on. A promise lost!
The 37 y.o. H and the 22 y.o. h are neighbours and share an affectionate and friendly connection. The h has been in love with him since always. But the H, a divorced father of two only sees her as a younger sister who needs looking out for.
As she starts dating around, we see a semblance of jealousy and possessiveness from him and things seem good. But from here it all goes down hill. The ex-wife makes a comeback and plays the h for a fool. For friends who share pretty much everything, suddenly there are a lot of misunderstandings and things left unsaid between the h/H. The H seems too embroiled with his ex-wife and kids and there’s hardly anything romantic going on between the h/H. So okay, I cannot hold it against a father who’s worried about his kids but for an intelligent man, he could do no multitasking.
The h declares her love but he says nothing in return and remains moody and unavailable even as they marry. The ex is also marrying someone else and seems to be evolving. So what keeps the H from declaring and sharing his feelings even after 2 months marriage was a non-comprehendo. And then we are to believe that he too had loved her since always!
And I don’t want my H to say such things as a way of proposing -
“I like being married, Christi,’ he added gruffly. ‘I like sharing breakfast with the same woman every morning, rather than some woman I can hardly remember the name of, I like coming home to that same woman in the evenings, having dinner with her, sleeping with her. I even like the arguments, because making up makes it all worth while..”
Speak of a reminiscencing and generic statement. ‘Anyone would do, my dear. You, that lawyer woman I’m currently dating, my bitchy ex-wife.' Truly romantic!
So it’s the H who ruins the book. The h was sweet and loving and deserved better. The ow was nicely vampy before she gets redeemed somewhat and seemingly remains in their life. Which is again awful from my pov - kids or no kids.
The 37 y.o. H and the 22 y.o. h are neighbours and share an affectionate and friendly connection. The h has been in love with him since always. But the H, a divorced father of two only sees her as a younger sister who needs looking out for.
As she starts dating around, we see a semblance of jealousy and possessiveness from him and things seem good. But from here it all goes down hill. The ex-wife makes a comeback and plays the h for a fool. For friends who share pretty much everything, suddenly there are a lot of misunderstandings and things left unsaid between the h/H. The H seems too embroiled with his ex-wife and kids and there’s hardly anything romantic going on between the h/H. So okay, I cannot hold it against a father who’s worried about his kids but for an intelligent man, he could do no multitasking.
The h declares her love but he says nothing in return and remains moody and unavailable even as they marry. The ex is also marrying someone else and seems to be evolving. So what keeps the H from declaring and sharing his feelings even after 2 months marriage was a non-comprehendo. And then we are to believe that he too had loved her since always!
And I don’t want my H to say such things as a way of proposing -
“I like being married, Christi,’ he added gruffly. ‘I like sharing breakfast with the same woman every morning, rather than some woman I can hardly remember the name of, I like coming home to that same woman in the evenings, having dinner with her, sleeping with her. I even like the arguments, because making up makes it all worth while..”
Speak of a reminiscencing and generic statement. ‘Anyone would do, my dear. You, that lawyer woman I’m currently dating, my bitchy ex-wife.' Truly romantic!
So it’s the H who ruins the book. The h was sweet and loving and deserved better. The ow was nicely vampy before she gets redeemed somewhat and seemingly remains in their life. Which is again awful from my pov - kids or no kids.
December 13, 2018
"To Love Again" is the bizarre "love" story of Christi and Lucas.
Basically..
-Our 22 year heroine is an actress who's loved the hero foreverrrrr and tries very, very hard to make the hero notice her as a lover
-Our 37 year old hero is a divorced father of two, who treats the heroine like a younger sister, with affection, encouraging her to go on dates and live her life
-The book until the 70% mark has one sided chemistry which changes 5% when the couple kisses- even after which h has to use multiple OM to make the indifferent hero jealous
-Subplot involving H's kids and a catty ex
-A hasty marriage filled with no communication
-A totally abrupt love confession and ending where all issues are resolved and everyone is a big happy family
A clusterfck of a May-December romance??
VERY DISAPPOINTED
SWE/Unsafe
1/5
Basically..
-Our 22 year heroine is an actress who's loved the hero foreverrrrr and tries very, very hard to make the hero notice her as a lover
-Our 37 year old hero is a divorced father of two, who treats the heroine like a younger sister, with affection, encouraging her to go on dates and live her life
-The book until the 70% mark has one sided chemistry which changes 5% when the couple kisses- even after which h has to use multiple OM to make the indifferent hero jealous
-Subplot involving H's kids and a catty ex
-A hasty marriage filled with no communication
-A totally abrupt love confession and ending where all issues are resolved and everyone is a big happy family
A clusterfck of a May-December romance??
VERY DISAPPOINTED
SWE/Unsafe
1/5
April 21, 2019
H/h have lived next door to each other for four years. Heroine has had a crush on him for all of this time, but she is 22 to his 37. Plus, he has the added complication of a vindictive ex-wife and two young children he tries to see on a regular basis.
The story opens with the heroine scheming for the hero to notice her as woman and not as a younger/sister friend. Her bff (the heroine from One Chance at Love) has arranged for the heroine to go on three dates with three different, mature men.
Hero does take notice. He is jealous. But he’s also tied up in knots about his ex re-marrying and what that will mean for his kids.
When H/h do go to bed and hero proposes, heroine thinks it’s because he wants to apply for custody of his kids. (And they do have the kids for the first month of their married life while the ex goes on her honeymoon).
They finally talk it out when heroine announces her pregnancy. Hero wasn’t thinking of his kids when he proposed. He loved the heroine.
I really liked the H/h in this one. They both were dealing with a tough situation and had the children’s welfare in mind above all else. Just a nice story.
The story opens with the heroine scheming for the hero to notice her as woman and not as a younger/sister friend. Her bff (the heroine from One Chance at Love) has arranged for the heroine to go on three dates with three different, mature men.
Hero does take notice. He is jealous. But he’s also tied up in knots about his ex re-marrying and what that will mean for his kids.
When H/h do go to bed and hero proposes, heroine thinks it’s because he wants to apply for custody of his kids. (And they do have the kids for the first month of their married life while the ex goes on her honeymoon).
They finally talk it out when heroine announces her pregnancy. Hero wasn’t thinking of his kids when he proposed. He loved the heroine.
I really liked the H/h in this one. They both were dealing with a tough situation and had the children’s welfare in mind above all else. Just a nice story.
September 17, 2012
I liked this one pretty well -- I do enjoy the "you're too young for me" theme. The only big downside was that I wasn't crazy about the reason for the dissolution of the hero's first marriage -- you got the feeling there was still some unfinished business there. And at times I almost felt sorry for the ex-wife -- who wants your ex-husband to marry some extremely young, pretty girl while you marry some older, bald, paunchy man? Still, ignoring all that this was a pleasant read.
February 7, 2023
Well, well, well. A CM age gap romance that wasn't totally batshit. Who knew they even existed. This one was actually pretty sweet. The h, Christi, is only just 22 and the H, Lucas, is 37. As per, she is orphaned (not a plane crash or a car crash but buried in an archaeological dig. CM must have been at the sherry when she made that one up). She's an actor, frequently resting, and he is a divorced business success with two young kids, Robin and Daisy. He and his ex are still bitter and, seemingly to the h, anyway, the ex (Marsha) is using the kids to punish him.
They've lived in next door apartments for 4 years and he's been a very protective daddy, I mean neighbour, to her. She's sick of the friendzone and is put on 3 dates with mature men by her best friend Dizzy. Things get jealous and hot.
When he does propose, the timing makes the h think it's purely so he can have custody of his kids. All is well that ends well and the blended family and civilised exes scenario at the end is certainly aspirational. Pretty decent, all told. Imagine, 3 kids at 23 though. Good luck to her, I feel like a lie down just thinking about it. At least she'll still be young when they grow up I suppose.
They've lived in next door apartments for 4 years and he's been a very protective daddy, I mean neighbour, to her. She's sick of the friendzone and is put on 3 dates with mature men by her best friend Dizzy. Things get jealous and hot.
When he does propose, the timing makes the h think it's purely so he can have custody of his kids. All is well that ends well and the blended family and civilised exes scenario at the end is certainly aspirational. Pretty decent, all told. Imagine, 3 kids at 23 though. Good luck to her, I feel like a lie down just thinking about it. At least she'll still be young when they grow up I suppose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2014
Middle of the road read. I think this one could have been better had it been written more for the light hearted goofy feel or even more intensely dramatic. As it was it never lifted to any heights one way or the other.
February 28, 2017
3.5 Stars
I read One Chance at Love and LUUURVED Dizzy and Zach's story and the awesome chemistry between them. I was hoping for more of that with this book.
I wasn't totally disappointed because there was some of the same magic from the first book, but Christi and Lucas just didn't have that same level of awesomeness!
Then there was the ex-wife and her bitterness. The cute kids. The three dates. So much going on that the actual relationship seemed more like a backdrop. I wanted more passion, more va-va-voom!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. I just didn't laugh as much through it as I did with Dizzy's and I just didn't luuuurve it!
I read One Chance at Love and LUUURVED Dizzy and Zach's story and the awesome chemistry between them. I was hoping for more of that with this book.
I wasn't totally disappointed because there was some of the same magic from the first book, but Christi and Lucas just didn't have that same level of awesomeness!
Then there was the ex-wife and her bitterness. The cute kids. The three dates. So much going on that the actual relationship seemed more like a backdrop. I wanted more passion, more va-va-voom!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. I just didn't laugh as much through it as I did with Dizzy's and I just didn't luuuurve it!
November 17, 2020
4 Stars ~ This was a fun read. Christi has loved her neighbour Lucas for the past four years, but she's afraid her 22 to his 37 will stop him from ever truly seeing her as anything other than kid. Their friendship is strong, which makes Christi afraid to make the first move, afraid she'll spoil the closeness they already have.
Lucas has hidden just how much he does see Christi, the woman. After a bitter divorce, Lucas fears repeating the mistakes of his past and the last thing he wants is to hold Christi back.
Lovely romance.
Lucas has hidden just how much he does see Christi, the woman. After a bitter divorce, Lucas fears repeating the mistakes of his past and the last thing he wants is to hold Christi back.
Lovely romance.
June 5, 2017
I had a hard time with this one. I was totally with it until he proposed. Then I was confused. Why was he so stand-offish? Wherever did she get her reasoning for his proposal? Granted he hadn't given the 3 magic words yet, but that was quite a leap.
And the ex-wife went from snarky cunt to sweet and compromising just cause she got married? I think CM just rushed this through without really thinking it through. You also never get to know these two characters. It was like reading about strangers.
And the ex-wife went from snarky cunt to sweet and compromising just cause she got married? I think CM just rushed this through without really thinking it through. You also never get to know these two characters. It was like reading about strangers.
May 19, 2016
To Love Again is a marked departure from Mortimer's usually stereotypical plots. For once the hero is not an arrogant, verbally abusive, sexual harasser who treats the heroine like a man hating, promiscuous, gold digger. And that is very good.
If I hadn't known who the writer was I would have assured that this was another of Penny Jordan's romances as it had a very Jordanian feel to the writing, characters and storyline.
If I hadn't known who the writer was I would have assured that this was another of Penny Jordan's romances as it had a very Jordanian feel to the writing, characters and storyline.
September 11, 2017
Ah the fight against what is inevitable. This story grabbed me and didn't let go. Truly enjoyed the struggle both characters had with the love that was obviously there. This male character is every woman's dream. Masculine but tender and protective. Huzzah!
August 23, 2013
This was just okay, not one of Mortimer's better works. It certainly lacked the tension that Mortimer does so well. This one felt so superficial I couldn't get invested in either H or h.
October 24, 2023
Christi and Lucas have been neighbours for 4 years
January 20, 2019
Christi has been in love with Lucas for years but it seems as he doesn't notice her as any more than a friend. On a weekend to visit her friend, Dizzy, and her uncle, Christi meets three older men who her friend is trying to set her up with. Christi agrees to a date with each of them. This finally brings Lucas' attention to her. There is some angst as they only act and retreat before one night things come to the head and they go to bed together. Lucas proposes and Christi accepts. They are married a week later. However they still don't talk and are unsure of each other's motives. When they finally talk honestly about how they feel, their happiness is complete especially with the news that Christi is pregnant.
January 18, 2018
To Live Again
They were next door ,s for four years. Though he is older she loves him. But he sees her only as a little sister. He is jaded from his divorce and the loss of his beloved children. They ended up marrying so that he wouldn't loose his children. But will it be a marriage of convenience? Or a true love match?
They were next door ,s for four years. Though he is older she loves him. But he sees her only as a little sister. He is jaded from his divorce and the loss of his beloved children. They ended up marrying so that he wouldn't loose his children. But will it be a marriage of convenience? Or a true love match?
May 25, 2021
A very endearing story, after the death of her parents Christi went to live in an apartment at 18 and met Lucas. With whom she fell in love but Lucas considered her too young and treated her like a little sister. Her best friend Dizzy decided to find a husband for her. After each date, Lucas became more and more jealous until he declared his love to Christi…….
November 20, 2020
I loved this book and the story. It started great with the frustrating parts in between but it was a sweet story, reminded me of someone and the importance of love in life. A sweet story.
December 31, 2021
2.5 stars
Did not like the heroine….
Did not like the heroine….
March 4, 2024
I didn't love this story. Not as good as others I have read. 2☆
March 25, 2021
Christi has lived in the flat adjacent to gorgeous Lucas Kingsley for four years now. And she's been in love with her handsome divorced neighbor ever since they met! Yet Lucas has only ever treated her with a brotherly affection. And unlike the sophisticated London beauties he dates, Christi has almost given up hope of him seeing her as a desirable woman...
Until one evening she convinces him to demonstrate to her how a man should kiss. And when he complies, suddenly everything changes...!
Until one evening she convinces him to demonstrate to her how a man should kiss. And when he complies, suddenly everything changes...!
November 22, 2016
dnf. writing style left me bored. felt sympathy for ex-wife and didn't like the heroine had bad thoughts of her....she's a good mother with 2 kids....hero wasn't given same derision by heroine of course. Heroine seemed flighty and childish. Didn't warm to her
August 31, 2016
This was good ... but it was also bad. Mortimer often does the angst between the hero and heroine so well, but it mostly fell flat here, probably because the Big Misunderstandings were contrived.
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