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Spitfire
How could she bear to stay with him?
Bobbie hadn't even really got over her parents' death and already she had to face losing Greentree Farm.
When Rod Simpson offered not only to buy the farm but also to let her stay on, Bobbie wasn't grateful. In fact, she was furious. He might be the best horse breeder and harness racer in the country, but he was just a bit too high-handed for her.
So she ran away from him. And she intended to keep on running....
Bobbie hadn't even really got over her parents' death and already she had to face losing Greentree Farm.
When Rod Simpson offered not only to buy the farm but also to let her stay on, Bobbie wasn't grateful. In fact, she was furious. He might be the best horse breeder and harness racer in the country, but he was just a bit too high-handed for her.
So she ran away from him. And she intended to keep on running....
Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1981
1 person is currently reading
47 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 31, 2016
Awww. This was sweet. I think this was Lindsay Armstrong's first novel for Harlequin and already you can see one of her signature tropes, which is the May/December romance that begins with an unconsummated marriage (and a frustrated hero) and the communication required to turn it into a real relationship.
In this case, the spitfire is the red-haired heroine who is on her way to compete in harness race when she is stuck with two flat tires. The horse owner/driver hero rescues her by hitching up her horse trailer to his car and he gets her to the track in time. Unfortunately, she loses to his horse (he wasn't driving) and now she knows she can't hang on to the farm she inherited when her parents died because she needed the prize money.
Hero swoops in, buys farm and hires heroine to care for and train his horses. She can live in the house with him and his sister for as long as she likes.
The 1981 Bingo Card of tropes is well represented:
Yes, we've seen it all before, but the author has a light touch and it's just a nice little story. Hero tries to be a heavy alpha with forced seduction, but he can't stay angry for longer than a paragraph. Same with the heroine. She's too reasonable to be "feisty." Read when you want something sweet from bygone days.
In this case, the spitfire is the red-haired heroine who is on her way to compete in harness race when she is stuck with two flat tires. The horse owner/driver hero rescues her by hitching up her horse trailer to his car and he gets her to the track in time. Unfortunately, she loses to his horse (he wasn't driving) and now she knows she can't hang on to the farm she inherited when her parents died because she needed the prize money.
Hero swoops in, buys farm and hires heroine to care for and train his horses. She can live in the house with him and his sister for as long as she likes.
The 1981 Bingo Card of tropes is well represented:
Yes, we've seen it all before, but the author has a light touch and it's just a nice little story. Hero tries to be a heavy alpha with forced seduction, but he can't stay angry for longer than a paragraph. Same with the heroine. She's too reasonable to be "feisty." Read when you want something sweet from bygone days.
June 11, 2013
3 Stars ~ Only 18, Bobbie struggles under the financial burdens of keeping Greentree Farm, since her parents died suddenly a few months before. Her last hope is to win the harness race she's entered her best horse in, she's a novice as a harness driver and though she has courage and spunk, she's inexperienced. On the way to the race she has a flat, and to compound her troubles she discovers her spare is also flat. And that's where Rod finds her, on the side of the road, in tears of frustration. At first Bobbie doesn't recognize Rod as the famous harness racer, all she knows is he puts her on edge. When she fails to win her race, she forces herself to accept that the farm will have to be sold. An offer comes in that is too good to be true, it was a fair price and she would be hired on to look after the new owner's horses, and be able to stay on the farm. Discovering the new owner is actually Rod, she reluctantly agrees to work for him and to share the farm house with him and his sister. Bobbie finds herself thriving, and falling in love with Rod. Rumours in the rural community spread that she and Rod are having an affair, and when his sister decides to marry, Bobbie realizes she can't stay. Rod won't have her leaving and he proposes a marriage of convenience; he's ready to settle down with a wife and children and their shared love of horses makes her a good choice. On the morning of her wedding, she had a visit from Marianne, claiming Rod is only marrying her out spite because they had quarrelled.
This is a charming love story of a young woman forced into adulthood when her parents die suddenly. Rod is like a gallant knight, from the moment he meets Bobbie, he seems to always be rescuing her. Unfortunately, we are not privy to Rod's POV, so we don't understand how he truly feels about Bobbie. It's obvious that he desires her, but his love for her is barely hinted at. Bobbie is a strong young woman but she's rather immature at the beginning. In her love for Rod she slowly grows up. This is Ms. Armstrong's debut, and I enjoyed it very much.
This is a charming love story of a young woman forced into adulthood when her parents die suddenly. Rod is like a gallant knight, from the moment he meets Bobbie, he seems to always be rescuing her. Unfortunately, we are not privy to Rod's POV, so we don't understand how he truly feels about Bobbie. It's obvious that he desires her, but his love for her is barely hinted at. Bobbie is a strong young woman but she's rather immature at the beginning. In her love for Rod she slowly grows up. This is Ms. Armstrong's debut, and I enjoyed it very much.
February 3, 2024
3.5. Really sweet LA following one of her horsy plots. 18 yr old orphan down on her luck horse farm owner Bobbie gets taken over by wealthy horse trainer/rider and older man Rod. There's another one by her with a very, very similar set up but this one is sweeter. It flows beautifully and has some nice gentle chemistry although when thwarted conjugally he starts getting a bit rough which jarred a bit. No consummation.
September 25, 2018
Loved this story. Loved the characters and the whole story line. The cover is my all time favourite of all the books I have read. Such a loving and casual setting.
May 28, 2025
It was a sweet love story until it wasn’t. It became silly after the wedding.
May 27, 2023
"Στον ίσκιο του μεγάλου δέντρου" -Λίντσεη Άρμστρονγκ, Συλλογή 364, έτος έκδοσης: 1981. Μετάφραση: Ελένη Κεκροπούλου.
Ο Ρόντ, ο αγαπημένος της Ρόντ, ήταν πια άντρας της! Παρ' όλα αυτά, η Μπόμπυ είναι δυστυχισμένη. Ο άνθρωπος που λατρεύει, δεν είναι ερωτευμένος μαζί της. Στέκεται δίπλα της απόμακρος, κλεισμένος στον εαυτό του. Μήπως αγαπάει ακόμα την εκρηκτική Μάριαν; Ότι και να ΄ναι πάντως, η Μπόμπυ δεν μπορεί να ζει έτσι αποξενωμένη κοντά του, γι' αυτό φεύγει μακριά! Η ζωή όμως χωρίς τον Ρόντ είναι κόλαση, ένα αδιάκοπο μαρτύριο. Κι αποφασίζει να γυρίσει πίσω, να δώσει την τελευταία της μάχη και να τον κερδίσει. Θα του μιλήσει, θα του ανοίξει την καρδιά της και θα προσπαθήσει να γκρεμίσει το αόρατο τείχος που τους χωρίζει...
Ο Ρόντ, ο αγαπημένος της Ρόντ, ήταν πια άντρας της! Παρ' όλα αυτά, η Μπόμπυ είναι δυστυχισμένη. Ο άνθρωπος που λατρεύει, δεν είναι ερωτευμένος μαζί της. Στέκεται δίπλα της απόμακρος, κλεισμένος στον εαυτό του. Μήπως αγαπάει ακόμα την εκρηκτική Μάριαν; Ότι και να ΄ναι πάντως, η Μπόμπυ δεν μπορεί να ζει έτσι αποξενωμένη κοντά του, γι' αυτό φεύγει μακριά! Η ζωή όμως χωρίς τον Ρόντ είναι κόλαση, ένα αδιάκοπο μαρτύριο. Κι αποφασίζει να γυρίσει πίσω, να δώσει την τελευταία της μάχη και να τον κερδίσει. Θα του μιλήσει, θα του ανοίξει την καρδιά της και θα προσπαθήσει να γκρεμίσει το αόρατο τείχος που τους χωρίζει...
March 4, 2014
Decent novel, worth the read for a sweet story. I hate manipulative villains that play on an innocents emotions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews