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The Return
Whilst on assignment in Iraq, English TV presenter and journalist Robert Tremayne is captured by Islamic Jihadists and held hostage.
His soul mate, Marielle, can barely come to terms with her loss but tries to move on with her life. Two years later, Robert is discovered alive. Marielle is overjoyed, but her life has changed beyond all recognition, and the man she loved is now very different.
His time in Iraq has left him cold, emotionless and detached. There's much to tell, and each wants desperately to return to the way things once were.
With the past always there to come between them, will they be able to recapture their lost love?
Will they ever be happy again?
His soul mate, Marielle, can barely come to terms with her loss but tries to move on with her life. Two years later, Robert is discovered alive. Marielle is overjoyed, but her life has changed beyond all recognition, and the man she loved is now very different.
His time in Iraq has left him cold, emotionless and detached. There's much to tell, and each wants desperately to return to the way things once were.
With the past always there to come between them, will they be able to recapture their lost love?
Will they ever be happy again?
- GenresContemporary Romance
146 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
90 people want to read
About the author
Jan Bowles
144 books181 followersFrom an early age, best-selling erotic romance author, Jan Bowles, loved to be creative. You would often find her painting vivid landscapes, or putting the finishing touches to a graphic design.
Nowadays, Jan channels all that enthusiasm into penning erotic romances with a delicious, sexy BDSM theme. She loves writing about strong heroes and heroines who aren't perfect. While their flaws may be many, their emotions are strong and all-consuming, and whatever troubles lie ahead, readers can be assured of a happily every after.
You can keep up to date with Jan and her books, on her website www.janbowles.com
Jan loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her by sending an email to jan(at)janbowles(dot)com
Nowadays, Jan channels all that enthusiasm into penning erotic romances with a delicious, sexy BDSM theme. She loves writing about strong heroes and heroines who aren't perfect. While their flaws may be many, their emotions are strong and all-consuming, and whatever troubles lie ahead, readers can be assured of a happily every after.
You can keep up to date with Jan and her books, on her website www.janbowles.com
Jan loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her by sending an email to jan(at)janbowles(dot)com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 23, 2011
2.75 stars Contemporary Romance
A fan of tortured hero goodness through and through, I picked this book up on a whim because the blurb promised a tortured hero which guarantees a whole lot of emotion wrenching goodness in a story. However, I found myself just a tad disappointed with how the story unfolded, not because it wasn't an interesting one, but there was something about the character development together with how the story is narrated that just didn't sit right with me.
The Return is the story of Marielle Stevens whose soul mate Robert Tremayne captured by Islamic Jihadists in Iraq who the British government gave up on returns two years afterwards, a changed man inside and out. Robert who has regretted his trip to war torn Iraq in order to make a name for himself as a journalist comes back home to the devastating news that the woman whose image had pulled him through hell and back in Iraq has gone and married his best friend James.
The story picks up 3 years later when Robert finally returns back home after that fateful night which had literally brought his world crashing down. The news that James had died and left Marielle a widow certainly helps his decision to come back and tie up loose ends back home where memories that are better left alone continue to haunt him upon his return.
The mother of all shocks leaps up when Robert discovers the truth about Marielle's 3 year old daughter Jemma. The sense of betrayal that he feels on missing out on his daughter's life for the past couple of years cut deep and Robert is unwilling to forgive and forget what Marielle's marriage to James had done to their relationship.
But when Robert's celebrity status brings focus onto Marielle and his daughter Jemma, Robert does what he thinks best to save them from the vicious cycle of their whole life being plastered all over the British tabloids. Robert proposes marriage to Marielle, who professes to have never stopped loving him all throughout the years.
Marielle has her work cut out for her to bring back the caring and loving man Robert was before he left to Iraq, glimpses of the man Marielle yearns for which she sees in Robert's tormented soul. Marielle knows that although the heady and scorching hot attraction between them runs deeper than ever, without learning to talk about the past and willing to forgive and forget what the past 5 years have meant to both of them, they would not have a chance of making their marriage work.
Before their happily ever after comes calling, Robert has to learn to slay his demons, the emotional scars left behind by the 2 years he spent in Iraq barely making it day after day and listen to what Marielle went through and hear her side of the story to finally begin to thaw the ice around his heart.
Though the storyline is an interesting one set in the UK, I found myself a bit impatient with both Robert and Marielle. I found myself irritated with Marielle because she professes to love Robert more than anything else in the world but hesitates to give Robert the chance he needs to see what they could be together. Robert on the other hand is a tortured soul yes, but I just couldn't grasp on the fact that he kept on blaming his emotional trauma suffered in Iraq as the sole reason for his coldness and aloofness when it comes to relationships. In my opinion, the betrayal he suffered at the hands of his best friend served as more of a catalyst to make him completely close himself up to any sort of relationship with the opposite sex apart from just getting together for sex. I wished Marielle would grow up a bit and Robert would try and be an adult for once and listen to what Marielle had to say without running off to wallow in his emotional scars.
Jan Bowles is an author who shows promise and I believe her stories will continue to get better. I would certainly not say no to reading another novel by her. However, I do wish that publishers wouldn't use the same cover on different books which just most of the time turns me off from buying a book. This cover sports the same cover art as that of the novel Just My Type by Erin Nicholas, which might be the reason why this book caught my eye in the first place.
A fan of tortured hero goodness through and through, I picked this book up on a whim because the blurb promised a tortured hero which guarantees a whole lot of emotion wrenching goodness in a story. However, I found myself just a tad disappointed with how the story unfolded, not because it wasn't an interesting one, but there was something about the character development together with how the story is narrated that just didn't sit right with me.
The Return is the story of Marielle Stevens whose soul mate Robert Tremayne captured by Islamic Jihadists in Iraq who the British government gave up on returns two years afterwards, a changed man inside and out. Robert who has regretted his trip to war torn Iraq in order to make a name for himself as a journalist comes back home to the devastating news that the woman whose image had pulled him through hell and back in Iraq has gone and married his best friend James.
The story picks up 3 years later when Robert finally returns back home after that fateful night which had literally brought his world crashing down. The news that James had died and left Marielle a widow certainly helps his decision to come back and tie up loose ends back home where memories that are better left alone continue to haunt him upon his return.
The mother of all shocks leaps up when Robert discovers the truth about Marielle's 3 year old daughter Jemma. The sense of betrayal that he feels on missing out on his daughter's life for the past couple of years cut deep and Robert is unwilling to forgive and forget what Marielle's marriage to James had done to their relationship.
But when Robert's celebrity status brings focus onto Marielle and his daughter Jemma, Robert does what he thinks best to save them from the vicious cycle of their whole life being plastered all over the British tabloids. Robert proposes marriage to Marielle, who professes to have never stopped loving him all throughout the years.
Marielle has her work cut out for her to bring back the caring and loving man Robert was before he left to Iraq, glimpses of the man Marielle yearns for which she sees in Robert's tormented soul. Marielle knows that although the heady and scorching hot attraction between them runs deeper than ever, without learning to talk about the past and willing to forgive and forget what the past 5 years have meant to both of them, they would not have a chance of making their marriage work.
Before their happily ever after comes calling, Robert has to learn to slay his demons, the emotional scars left behind by the 2 years he spent in Iraq barely making it day after day and listen to what Marielle went through and hear her side of the story to finally begin to thaw the ice around his heart.
Though the storyline is an interesting one set in the UK, I found myself a bit impatient with both Robert and Marielle. I found myself irritated with Marielle because she professes to love Robert more than anything else in the world but hesitates to give Robert the chance he needs to see what they could be together. Robert on the other hand is a tortured soul yes, but I just couldn't grasp on the fact that he kept on blaming his emotional trauma suffered in Iraq as the sole reason for his coldness and aloofness when it comes to relationships. In my opinion, the betrayal he suffered at the hands of his best friend served as more of a catalyst to make him completely close himself up to any sort of relationship with the opposite sex apart from just getting together for sex. I wished Marielle would grow up a bit and Robert would try and be an adult for once and listen to what Marielle had to say without running off to wallow in his emotional scars.
Jan Bowles is an author who shows promise and I believe her stories will continue to get better. I would certainly not say no to reading another novel by her. However, I do wish that publishers wouldn't use the same cover on different books which just most of the time turns me off from buying a book. This cover sports the same cover art as that of the novel Just My Type by Erin Nicholas, which might be the reason why this book caught my eye in the first place.
September 23, 2010
The author offers another story with a tough story-line. Misinformation is responsible for a series of events that have catastrophic consquences for all involved. Friendships gone bad breeds betrayal and deceipt.
Lies by ommision continue the dominoe effect of mistrust between the heroine and hero. Ms Bowles offers it all in this story.
If you are looking for a story with an unusual backstory that impacts on the characters present, then this is a book to read.
Lies by ommision continue the dominoe effect of mistrust between the heroine and hero. Ms Bowles offers it all in this story.
If you are looking for a story with an unusual backstory that impacts on the characters present, then this is a book to read.
January 1, 2010
I really love this book, so much so that I could not put it down. I eventually finished reading it at 4.am in the morning. Jan has a lovely way of bringing the characters to life.
This is a fantastic love story. I recommend it.
This is a fantastic love story. I recommend it.
December 21, 2009
Definitely keeps the stakes high! I enjoyed the story.
June 10, 2011
This is my third book that I have read by this author. I was not sure if I wanted to read this story because the preview, it did not draw me in immediately as the other books I have read, but because I loved both books I took a chance on it. It's not really like the other two books that I have read but the writing style is still the same. Robert was missing and believe to be dead. After 2 years he has returned home to some big changes, the main one includes his best friend and the woman he loved Marielle, but all is not what it seems between the characters. This was a good read, I think the story telling was done well and of course can't complain about the sex. Robert might of seem a bit harsh sometimes but after all he has been through I think it brought everything full circle for Robert and Marielle.
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Feel free to join my book group on facebook ( Romance Novel Junkies) we have over 450 members and counting which includes well known and indie authors and avid readers as members who are apart of this group who would love to hear about new books and thoughts also check out our kindle and ebook lending library.
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Feel free to join my book group on facebook ( Romance Novel Junkies) we have over 450 members and counting which includes well known and indie authors and avid readers as members who are apart of this group who would love to hear about new books and thoughts also check out our kindle and ebook lending library.
December 30, 2011
http://www.romancenoveljunkies.com
This is my third book that I have read by this author. I was not sure if I wanted to read this story because the preview, it did not draw me in immediately as the other books I have read, but because I loved both books I took a chance on it. It's not really like the other two books that I have read but the writing style is still the same. Robert was missing and believe to be dead. After 2 years he has returned home to some big changes, the main one includes his best friend and the woman he loved Marielle, but all is not what it seems between the characters. This was a good read, I think the story telling was done well and of course can't complain about the sex. Robert might of seem a bit harsh sometimes but after all he has been through I think it brought everything full circle for Robert and Marielle.
This is my third book that I have read by this author. I was not sure if I wanted to read this story because the preview, it did not draw me in immediately as the other books I have read, but because I loved both books I took a chance on it. It's not really like the other two books that I have read but the writing style is still the same. Robert was missing and believe to be dead. After 2 years he has returned home to some big changes, the main one includes his best friend and the woman he loved Marielle, but all is not what it seems between the characters. This was a good read, I think the story telling was done well and of course can't complain about the sex. Robert might of seem a bit harsh sometimes but after all he has been through I think it brought everything full circle for Robert and Marielle.
January 1, 2010
This is the story of betrayal and mistrust.
Robert Tremayne and Marielle Stevens, must forgive the bad judgements and mistakes they made before true love blossoms once more.
A beautiful love story that simply can't be put down. Loved it.
Robert Tremayne and Marielle Stevens, must forgive the bad judgements and mistakes they made before true love blossoms once more.
A beautiful love story that simply can't be put down. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews