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A Difficult Man
The personal touch. Redesigning the interior of Gareth Walker's country house was Juanita Spencer-Hill's first opportunity to stake her independence in a world that had been so difficult to enter. She had no designs on the man himself--though she was uncomfortably aware of the attraction between them. And so was Gareth--And he intended to do something about it... even if it involved forcing Juanita to live a little. Not that any of this meant he wanted Juanita to fall deeply in love with him....
188 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
44 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Armstrong
318 books92 followersGillian Smith (alias Lindsay Armstrong) was born in South Africa. She grew up with three ambitions: to become a writer, to travel the world, and to be a game ranger. She didn't achieve the last one, but her fascination for wildlife and that special something about Africa and its big game still remains with her. When she went to work it was in travel, at an agency and an airline, and this started her on the road to seeing the world.
Lindsey met her New Zealand-born husband, who had been working in West Africa, when he was on his way home through Johannesburg. He did go home but in a matter of weeks he was back in South Africa, and six months later they were married. Three of their five children were born in South Africa. Then one in London and one in Australia, after they made the decision to emigrate from South Africa.
It wasn't until her youngest child started school that Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table determined to tackle her other ambition to stop dreaming about writing and do it! She hasn't stopped since. She's not happy unless she has a book under way, and she's discovered she can write through just about anything.
Lindsay and her husband have moved around a lot. They've trained racehorses,farmed, and lived on their boat for six months while they sailed it from the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait and back, an epic voyage! They currently live in Queensland, overlooking the water; they sold their farm, and they're looking around for another boat. She and her husband love to travel and have been back to Africa twice in the past few years. The highlight of one of their trips was a visit to the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where Lindsay did the one thing she swore she would never do: take a ride in a hot-air balloon. She was a nervous wreck as the balloon tottered upright, but will remember it as a unique experience to see the game spreading out on the Serengeti plain beneath her as the sun rose.
"They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there..."
Despite this passion for wildlife and Africa, Lindsay considers Australia her home now and loves the country. She travelled to Sydney to witness the closing weekend of the Olympic Games in September 2000; it made her proud to be an adopted Aussie!
Lindsey met her New Zealand-born husband, who had been working in West Africa, when he was on his way home through Johannesburg. He did go home but in a matter of weeks he was back in South Africa, and six months later they were married. Three of their five children were born in South Africa. Then one in London and one in Australia, after they made the decision to emigrate from South Africa.
It wasn't until her youngest child started school that Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table determined to tackle her other ambition to stop dreaming about writing and do it! She hasn't stopped since. She's not happy unless she has a book under way, and she's discovered she can write through just about anything.
Lindsay and her husband have moved around a lot. They've trained racehorses,farmed, and lived on their boat for six months while they sailed it from the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait and back, an epic voyage! They currently live in Queensland, overlooking the water; they sold their farm, and they're looking around for another boat. She and her husband love to travel and have been back to Africa twice in the past few years. The highlight of one of their trips was a visit to the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where Lindsay did the one thing she swore she would never do: take a ride in a hot-air balloon. She was a nervous wreck as the balloon tottered upright, but will remember it as a unique experience to see the game spreading out on the Serengeti plain beneath her as the sun rose.
"They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there..."
Despite this passion for wildlife and Africa, Lindsay considers Australia her home now and loves the country. She travelled to Sydney to witness the closing weekend of the Olympic Games in September 2000; it made her proud to be an adopted Aussie!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 8, 2019
While reading, I took notes so I can share my reading experience with you. Here we go :
Is your parents' famous open marriage still as open as it used to be?'
Juanita set her lips and merely stared at him.
'I've always thought,' he went on, undeterred, 'that one's children suffer most in those kind of irregular arrangements. Is that why you have a slight speech impediment, Miss Spencer-Hill?'
On the 7th page, he stole my heart. Lol
My dear,' he drawled, 'your sensitivity amazes me and I have to wonder what's behind it. Could it be that you're secretly longing for some strange man to pin you to some strange bed? You know, we all
have our fantasies, there's nothing so dreadful in it, but –‘
He’s getting better.
I once read the observation that men come to love through sex andwomen come to sex through love.
Great sentence to persuade a woman to have sex. ;)
I wonder if I shouldn't enlighten Laura about it all? Before she gets too serious about staking her claim with you—which is what she said to me:
'Dear me,' he murmured, 'so you were right.'
'Of course I was right. The only blind person around here is you.'
'That doesn't mean to say I reciprocate those sentiments in any way.'
'You spent two hours with her,' Juanita pointed out. 'You could just be fighting it for the sake of a fight; I wouldn't put that past you at all. And who's to say she mightn't suit all your requirements? I would imagine her career is extremely important to her, I would imagine the last thing she would want to do is abandon it to sink into a sea of domesticity and maternity—you two could very well come up with
some kind of arrangement that would be perfect for both your outsized egos.'
Go Juanita!
'You haven't told me whether you could see yourself making love to any other man.'
'No...' It was out before she could stop herself and there was an anguished ring to it that was unmistakable; and he did smile at last, with his eyes and right into hers.
'Well, then,' he murmured in the moment before he took her into his arms, 'I think that settles it.'
He has just proposed. Do you see my point when I say he is great!
Anyway, after some miracle and drama, he said he loved her then HEA!
If h was more cruel, it'd been 4 stars for me. :)
Is your parents' famous open marriage still as open as it used to be?'
Juanita set her lips and merely stared at him.
'I've always thought,' he went on, undeterred, 'that one's children suffer most in those kind of irregular arrangements. Is that why you have a slight speech impediment, Miss Spencer-Hill?'
On the 7th page, he stole my heart. Lol
My dear,' he drawled, 'your sensitivity amazes me and I have to wonder what's behind it. Could it be that you're secretly longing for some strange man to pin you to some strange bed? You know, we all
have our fantasies, there's nothing so dreadful in it, but –‘
He’s getting better.
I once read the observation that men come to love through sex andwomen come to sex through love.
Great sentence to persuade a woman to have sex. ;)
I wonder if I shouldn't enlighten Laura about it all? Before she gets too serious about staking her claim with you—which is what she said to me:
'Dear me,' he murmured, 'so you were right.'
'Of course I was right. The only blind person around here is you.'
'That doesn't mean to say I reciprocate those sentiments in any way.'
'You spent two hours with her,' Juanita pointed out. 'You could just be fighting it for the sake of a fight; I wouldn't put that past you at all. And who's to say she mightn't suit all your requirements? I would imagine her career is extremely important to her, I would imagine the last thing she would want to do is abandon it to sink into a sea of domesticity and maternity—you two could very well come up with
some kind of arrangement that would be perfect for both your outsized egos.'
Go Juanita!
'You haven't told me whether you could see yourself making love to any other man.'
'No...' It was out before she could stop herself and there was an anguished ring to it that was unmistakable; and he did smile at last, with his eyes and right into hers.
'Well, then,' he murmured in the moment before he took her into his arms, 'I think that settles it.'
He has just proposed. Do you see my point when I say he is great!
Anyway, after some miracle and drama, he said he loved her then HEA!
If h was more cruel, it'd been 4 stars for me. :)
May 29, 2018
Re A Difficult Man - Lindsay Armstrong's book might be better titled A Narcissistic Manipulative Donkey's Rear - but word space is limited to keep the aesthetics of the cover going, so we got the shorter title instead.
The h in this is a 25 yr old introvert who comes from a family of very flamboyant artists and race car drivers. Her parents are married, but infamous for their various other partners and her brother, a dyed in the wool carbon copy of her womanizing father, is following right along the rest of the family's primrose path to Hell.
The h is different. She isn't flamboyant, she has a stutter and she was in a very bad car accident three years earlier that left her probably unable to bear children and with a pronounced limp, she has to use a walking stick.
In the course of the h's extensive recovery, the h did a correspondence course to become an interior decorator. She is sent to the H's old and shabby, but well built country house to give the place a refit.
The H is a famous bonk buster political thriller writer. He also appears to use his very good looks and intense masculine presence to manipulate and intimidate women, especially those who seem determined to resist his manly mojo and charm.
The h watched a television interview with the H and a Barbara Walters type reporter over the literary value of his backlist and the H came off a clear winner, while the reporter was overwhelmed by his Manly Mojo and the h was pretty shocked.
The h, being a reserved type herself, isn't prepared for his bombardment of questions about her parents, their marriage, her limp and her unicorn petting status right after introducing herself as the interior designer.
(In fact, the first half of the book runs remarkably similar to the interrogation of Clarice Starling by Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs when the H and h interact with each other.)
The h is also overwhelmed (or at least LA tells us she is,) by the H's Patented HP Lurve Force Super X-Factor Manly Mojo whenever she gets within three feet of him. Fortunately, the housekeeper's kids, who are staying with the H while the real housekeeper is in hospital, and a Great Dane named Westminster are running in and out all the time to keep things from bordering into h's imprisoned in dry basement well territory.
After a tremendous amount of H dissection of the h, her psyche and her motivations, we find out the H is wildly attracted back, (or at least LA says he is.) But even more importantly, the H is trying to write the GREAT AUSTRALIAN novel, and not getting anywhere.
Then the H's sister shows up and she is in hysterics cause she just broke up with the h's lady buffet sampling, race car driving brother.
The h now has to consider that the H is plotting revenge to pay her family back for the havoc the h's brother and the H's sister have generated, but after endless inner-monologues and half-baked insinuated conversations, the H and the h conclude that they are just feeling the bite of intense mutual attraction.
The H KNOWS he isn't marriage material because he was married years earlier to another journalist. He hated being tied down in marriage and his wife did too, but the wife got preggers and had to limit her travel and resented it and then got into her own car accident and died.
The h is willing to try an affair with the H, even tho the interview lady the H decimated on TV shows up to try and put moves on the H and warns the h off.
The h figures she can't have children and she can't control her yearning burning need to cast off the constraints of 24/7 unicorn grooming. So the big purple passion moments begin when the kids leave for a week to go see their mum in hospital.
The week speeds by fast and the h is in love and the H asks her to marry him. The h faints from the shock of it. The H explains that the h gives him peace and is serving as a sort of book writing muse.
The H was able to get a handle on his writer's block after the h did her own version of psychoanalysis on him, then told him he needs to put his own experience into his new book to make it more accessible.
The kids come back and the h has to go check on carpets and wallpapers for the house. She goes back to her flat in Sydney and passes out in front of her boss. She goes to the doctor and finds out the H has SUPER XFACTOR HP LURVE MOJO MOTILATORS and of course the stork will be delivering in about 34 weeks or so.
This freaks the h out, cause while she wants a baby badly, she assumes the H only proposed cause she is good at organizing things in his life, doesn't mind coming second best to his career, is always interested in the lurve club events and because she thought she was infertile and the H said he did not want kids, as they are too big of a shackle to his roaming around.
So the h is despondent and her mum is trying to help. Then her brother wrecks himself and ends in hospital. We all rush to Adelaide and the H's sister rushes to Adelaide too. The H's sister and the h's brother seem to reunite and then the H shows up, looking for the h to find out why she ran off on him.
The h explains that she is in now in an interesting condition and she did not think the H would join her in that interest, but the H claims that really the baby is proof of the power of their love and that is why he hated being married before. Cause he liked his wife, but it wasn't a rooted kind of love and it made him restless.
He feels very rooted with the h tho and he is delighted to get a new addition. The h is crying tears of joy and avows her true love right back as the H sweeps her off for the wedding, babies and country house bliss for the big HEA.
This one was alright, but it was tediously long in the Hannibal Lecter School of Inquisitional Combat and the H was just such a nematode pustule for so long that I wondered what on earth the h even saw in him. Plus, there was no sense of real HP Lurve Force Mojo. So I wasn't buying the attraction between the H and h.
Still the last half was pretty well done, after the h recovers her equilibrium and manages to keep up with the H. The H's big declaration at the end was nice too, so overall this isn't a bad HP outing if you run into it.
The h in this is a 25 yr old introvert who comes from a family of very flamboyant artists and race car drivers. Her parents are married, but infamous for their various other partners and her brother, a dyed in the wool carbon copy of her womanizing father, is following right along the rest of the family's primrose path to Hell.
The h is different. She isn't flamboyant, she has a stutter and she was in a very bad car accident three years earlier that left her probably unable to bear children and with a pronounced limp, she has to use a walking stick.
In the course of the h's extensive recovery, the h did a correspondence course to become an interior decorator. She is sent to the H's old and shabby, but well built country house to give the place a refit.
The H is a famous bonk buster political thriller writer. He also appears to use his very good looks and intense masculine presence to manipulate and intimidate women, especially those who seem determined to resist his manly mojo and charm.
The h watched a television interview with the H and a Barbara Walters type reporter over the literary value of his backlist and the H came off a clear winner, while the reporter was overwhelmed by his Manly Mojo and the h was pretty shocked.
The h, being a reserved type herself, isn't prepared for his bombardment of questions about her parents, their marriage, her limp and her unicorn petting status right after introducing herself as the interior designer.
(In fact, the first half of the book runs remarkably similar to the interrogation of Clarice Starling by Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs when the H and h interact with each other.)
The h is also overwhelmed (or at least LA tells us she is,) by the H's Patented HP Lurve Force Super X-Factor Manly Mojo whenever she gets within three feet of him. Fortunately, the housekeeper's kids, who are staying with the H while the real housekeeper is in hospital, and a Great Dane named Westminster are running in and out all the time to keep things from bordering into h's imprisoned in dry basement well territory.
After a tremendous amount of H dissection of the h, her psyche and her motivations, we find out the H is wildly attracted back, (or at least LA says he is.) But even more importantly, the H is trying to write the GREAT AUSTRALIAN novel, and not getting anywhere.
Then the H's sister shows up and she is in hysterics cause she just broke up with the h's lady buffet sampling, race car driving brother.
The h now has to consider that the H is plotting revenge to pay her family back for the havoc the h's brother and the H's sister have generated, but after endless inner-monologues and half-baked insinuated conversations, the H and the h conclude that they are just feeling the bite of intense mutual attraction.
The H KNOWS he isn't marriage material because he was married years earlier to another journalist. He hated being tied down in marriage and his wife did too, but the wife got preggers and had to limit her travel and resented it and then got into her own car accident and died.
The h is willing to try an affair with the H, even tho the interview lady the H decimated on TV shows up to try and put moves on the H and warns the h off.
The h figures she can't have children and she can't control her yearning burning need to cast off the constraints of 24/7 unicorn grooming. So the big purple passion moments begin when the kids leave for a week to go see their mum in hospital.
The week speeds by fast and the h is in love and the H asks her to marry him. The h faints from the shock of it. The H explains that the h gives him peace and is serving as a sort of book writing muse.
The H was able to get a handle on his writer's block after the h did her own version of psychoanalysis on him, then told him he needs to put his own experience into his new book to make it more accessible.
The kids come back and the h has to go check on carpets and wallpapers for the house. She goes back to her flat in Sydney and passes out in front of her boss. She goes to the doctor and finds out the H has SUPER XFACTOR HP LURVE MOJO MOTILATORS and of course the stork will be delivering in about 34 weeks or so.
This freaks the h out, cause while she wants a baby badly, she assumes the H only proposed cause she is good at organizing things in his life, doesn't mind coming second best to his career, is always interested in the lurve club events and because she thought she was infertile and the H said he did not want kids, as they are too big of a shackle to his roaming around.
So the h is despondent and her mum is trying to help. Then her brother wrecks himself and ends in hospital. We all rush to Adelaide and the H's sister rushes to Adelaide too. The H's sister and the h's brother seem to reunite and then the H shows up, looking for the h to find out why she ran off on him.
The h explains that she is in now in an interesting condition and she did not think the H would join her in that interest, but the H claims that really the baby is proof of the power of their love and that is why he hated being married before. Cause he liked his wife, but it wasn't a rooted kind of love and it made him restless.
He feels very rooted with the h tho and he is delighted to get a new addition. The h is crying tears of joy and avows her true love right back as the H sweeps her off for the wedding, babies and country house bliss for the big HEA.
This one was alright, but it was tediously long in the Hannibal Lecter School of Inquisitional Combat and the H was just such a nematode pustule for so long that I wondered what on earth the h even saw in him. Plus, there was no sense of real HP Lurve Force Mojo. So I wasn't buying the attraction between the H and h.
Still the last half was pretty well done, after the h recovers her equilibrium and manages to keep up with the H. The H's big declaration at the end was nice too, so overall this isn't a bad HP outing if you run into it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2019
Hero is one of LA's narcissistic artist-types with a tragic past, a cynical attitude and a marshmallow center. At least that's how the author tries to depict him. He actually comes across as fairly shallow and confused. (Booker Prize? Really? Count your money and be grateful for making a living writing, hero) He starts off being condescending to the heroine and then becomes enthralled with her.
Heroine is the 'ugly duckling' of a dynamic family. She stutters when nervous and was in a terrible car accident which caused her to walk with a limp. She is an interior designer and is hired to redecorate hero's family home in the country. Heroine is dubious of love/physical attraction but soon finds herself in the hero's bed.
There is a last minute wrinkle with the hero's sister and heroine's brother and a miracle pregnancy, but for the most part his is a low-conflict story. Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
Heroine is the 'ugly duckling' of a dynamic family. She stutters when nervous and was in a terrible car accident which caused her to walk with a limp. She is an interior designer and is hired to redecorate hero's family home in the country. Heroine is dubious of love/physical attraction but soon finds herself in the hero's bed.
There is a last minute wrinkle with the hero's sister and heroine's brother and a miracle pregnancy, but for the most part his is a low-conflict story. Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
November 14, 2020
Juanita Spencer-Hill has just landed her first major assignment as an interior decorator, but her client is Gareth Walker, a bestselling author who wants his house...interior decorated, I guess. No sooner than she has arrived is he subjecting her to a virtual inquisition, with questions that border on sexual harassment. Basically, their back and forth amounts to the fact that Juanita is hot for Gareth, and Gareth has picked up on this, and likes to mock her for it.
Juanita has a low self-esteem because of her lisp and lingering after-effects of a car accident that resulted in a persistent limp. These self-esteem issues are another barrier between her and Gareth. Not to mention she's not sure how she would do living with somebody whose temper can be so volatile. Although, it must be said, it's Juanita who's the one throwing things at Gareth when their conversations get too confrontational and personal for her. It really sometimes felt like a bit of a toxic relationship!
Ah, but this is 1990s Mills & Boon. (1993, to be exact.) I must admit a little part of the enjoyment was how dated and mildly offensive some of it is. There's Gareth's behaviour, which as I said is basically sexual harassment. He doesn't like militant feminists! Then there was the bit where Juanita's boss told her she should be able to handle it if one her male clients made a pass at her! But I can handle that. Just no forced seductions or rapes, please.
There are minor subplots involving a busted relationship between Gareth's sister Xanthe and Juanita's brother Damien, as well as a television interviewer with her eye on Gareth, but nothing too soap opera-y dramatic. (Although, if you've read my review of The Aloha Bride you'll know I enjoy a bit of soap opera lunacy!) Nevertheless, I enjoy subplots over endless internal monologues from the hero and heroine.
Nothing really memorable, but still a good read. The dynamics between Juanita and Gareth were enough to keep me interested, and Juanita's conflicts in regards to her feelings towards Garth were believable.
Juanita has a low self-esteem because of her lisp and lingering after-effects of a car accident that resulted in a persistent limp. These self-esteem issues are another barrier between her and Gareth. Not to mention she's not sure how she would do living with somebody whose temper can be so volatile. Although, it must be said, it's Juanita who's the one throwing things at Gareth when their conversations get too confrontational and personal for her. It really sometimes felt like a bit of a toxic relationship!
Ah, but this is 1990s Mills & Boon. (1993, to be exact.) I must admit a little part of the enjoyment was how dated and mildly offensive some of it is. There's Gareth's behaviour, which as I said is basically sexual harassment. He doesn't like militant feminists! Then there was the bit where Juanita's boss told her she should be able to handle it if one her male clients made a pass at her! But I can handle that. Just no forced seductions or rapes, please.
There are minor subplots involving a busted relationship between Gareth's sister Xanthe and Juanita's brother Damien, as well as a television interviewer with her eye on Gareth, but nothing too soap opera-y dramatic. (Although, if you've read my review of The Aloha Bride you'll know I enjoy a bit of soap opera lunacy!) Nevertheless, I enjoy subplots over endless internal monologues from the hero and heroine.
Nothing really memorable, but still a good read. The dynamics between Juanita and Gareth were enough to keep me interested, and Juanita's conflicts in regards to her feelings towards Garth were believable.
February 22, 2014
Girl meets guy, they like each other, things are going well until something or someone comes into the picture to derail them, they work through it and live happily ever after.
May 15, 2019
Difficult man? Difficult book. There was a lot missing overall, and we had important side characters that never got the closure or importance the story needed. Hero was pretty much a jerk. The heroine had no personality except for the injuries she had. Skip cause it feels very lacking.
October 23, 2023
Political thriller writer and shall we say somewhat narcissistic, confident ladies man Gareth hires stammering, limping, (and believed sterile due to the car crash injury) interior decorator Juanita to do over his large family home. She's the quiet offspring of an uber loud, artistic, celeb family and full of insecurities. He's got some good qualities- he's a sane big brother to Xanthe (the dizzy 20 year old who coincidentally gets dumped by Juanita's formula one driver brother) and pseudo father to the housekeeper's family that includes 7 yr old twins and an over exuberant great Dane called Westminster. Oh yes, let's not forget the polo pony agisting (pleased to say jodhpurs appear twice). There was such a lot of reluctance and over analysing between them, it was a bit wearing in places but an overall decent read. There was a meta element (it's always interesting when HP writers use characters who are also writers to explore the process and the insecurities). In his case, block caused by an interviewer that got under his skin about the capital L literaryness (or rather not) of his oeuvre. I always think it's sad when all the microaggressions and snobbery affect people whose contribution to literature has brought so much pleasure to so many people. There's room for everyone, it's never zero sum. LA can certainly rest easy, for the pleasure her books have given me.
September 15, 2020
I like the man to relentlessly pursue the woman. This man didn’t. She fell for him too easy.
And he tells her it is not a great idea for her to fall in love with him. Nahh. He should beg her for her love, not reject it.
And he tells her it is not a great idea for her to fall in love with him. Nahh. He should beg her for her love, not reject it.
August 30, 2024
3.5 stars
July 27, 2025
Super nosy H doesn’t quite step over line to manipulate h.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews