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The Stone Princess
Once upon a time...
Exciting, dangerous men do not make good husbands. But neither do excitable, passionate adolescents make reasonable wives. And so, with a little help from a big misunderstanding, Petra's marriage to New Zealand businessman Caine Fleming had failed very quickly.
In the eight years since Caine had left, Petra had grown up-hiding her pain behind a glossy, brittle mask of sophistication. Now her cool demeanor only makes Caine more determined to break through that calm, serene shield to force the real Petra Fleming out of hiding-and turn the stone princess back into a passionate woman.
Exciting, dangerous men do not make good husbands. But neither do excitable, passionate adolescents make reasonable wives. And so, with a little help from a big misunderstanding, Petra's marriage to New Zealand businessman Caine Fleming had failed very quickly.
In the eight years since Caine had left, Petra had grown up-hiding her pain behind a glossy, brittle mask of sophistication. Now her cool demeanor only makes Caine more determined to break through that calm, serene shield to force the real Petra Fleming out of hiding-and turn the stone princess back into a passionate woman.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
Robyn Donald
448 books148 followersRobyn Elaine Donald was born on 14 August 1940 in Northland, New Zealand. She was the oldest child in her family, and as a child, she thrilled her four sisters and one brother with bloodcurdling adventure tales, usually very like the latest book she'd borrowed from the library.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
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February 2, 2018
Re The Stone Princess - Robyn Donald takes the line of passive resistance in this little story of young love, separation and blackmail, continuing the celebration of a A Year Down Under
The story starts when the h is 18, she goes to a party with her aunt and uncle and sees a tall, dark stranger across the crowded room, eyes meet and true love is found in a moment. The handsome, entrepreneurial young man, about ten years older than the girl, has found his princess reward and they start dating. When their lips meet, wild passion springs between them and the prince knows that he has only one option, to offer marriage to this innocent princess and carry her off to his castle.
In a whirlwind of passion and longing, the two wed and the nights of love are endless. But one day a snake uncle stole into the castle and the snake's vile lies spoken through a twisted tongue turned the already poisoned heart of the handsome young man to granite and caused a veil of ugly illusion to be cast over his eyes.
For the vile snake lies convinced the prince that money was the only reason his ugly, upstart self had ever won the hand of the princess, and that the princess was really only a pricey, tarty tramp who sold herself at the snake's behest, under the guise of pristine innocence and light.
The pure and loving princess was cast out of the castle in dire shame. Taunted for her passion and tormented with the knowledge that she was no princess in reality, but only a greedy, voracious tart, fit for nothing but the streets and a business loan.
The snake's evil lies had placed a spell on the handsome prince's heart, transforming it into a hideous troll stone and all that the blinded veiled eyes of the prince could see now was tainted by the colors of greed and gluttony and rapacious lust .
In the bitter aftermath of the prince's troll stone transformation, (the seeds of which were planted years earlier by greedy and ravening raptors, who betrayed his youthful innocence as he grew to manhood and extorted their reward for his care and feeding by demanding huge piles of gold), the prince fled to a far off land and the princess filed for a royal decree of dissolution of marriage.
While in the far off land, the prince made an immense fortune, loved countless beautiful but empty women and made a very nice female friend, who has her own princess story complete with magical cat in Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
But even tho he carried the ugly heart of troll stone, an endless yearning in the empty dark space that once contained the prince's soul drove him back to the land of his birth and forced him to seek out that one trampy tart Jezebel harlot who sold herself for gold for her greedy, vile, snaky uncle's failing business.
The princess herself was under another spell, cause those evil snakes use multiple illusions to preserve the mirage that they are all powerful and important kings of everything, but her spell was the offshoot of the black poison that turned the prince's heart.
For she believed his words of tarty trampy-hood - her own butterfly mother was the very same, branded scarlet with a Jezebel's name. The princess knew this because she watched the sad dirge of her butterfly mother's story play out with an older king, the h's long departed father. The princess's mother was beautiful, wise and witty and gay and married an aging king when perhaps a young, flirtatious knight would have been better suited.
Unfortunately young knights have very little income, so the princess's mother was urged by her reserved and dignified family to wed the aging king - who had no patience for witty and gay and beautiful butterflies. Eventually the aged king grew tired of the various flirtings and flyings and the terrible storms that ensued when nets where employed to harness the butterfly's wings.
The king abdicated and set off to wander where he would and garner a small fortune until he faded away, leaving behind a crippled butterfly who only longed for some kind knight to fix her wings and let her fly.
This led to many samplings of various knights, cobblers, butchers, bankers and other assorted types, but none had the patience to teach the butterfly to fly again and they all left in a rush when the storms became too great, many with harsh words and ugly epithets cast upon the princess's failing butterfly mother.
The princess's butterfly mother then turned to darker potions and dubious herbs from unsavory fields in an attempt to heal her wings and soar into the sky. It was one such journey, with a new potential knight, that caused the butterfly mother to leave the young princess with her reserved lady sister, who believed that a life well lived was a life of dignity, control and subdued demeanor with never an ounce of passion.
Tho the princess never felt very demure and longed for more colors than pale pink pastel, the little princess was very grateful for the safety of a snug and warm castle. So she learned to gain her lady aunt's approval by imitating her dignified, reserved restraint in all that she did and when royal decrees were ordered to keep her bound in her new pastel prison, the little princess stifled her yearnings and gratefully fitted in.
But never could she change her treacherous heart, that longed for wild purples to clash with her long gilded tresses and vivid teals that matched the liquid pools of her glowing, flashing eyes. However, the princess wanted very much to be accepted by her new caretakers and until she met the prince, was all that was perfectly proper and compliant.
After meeting the prince and the wonder of his kiss, the princess allowed her yearning heart to flow in the dream time of the prince's love, but she seekritly knew the lovely time of her princely delight just could not last. Stains of the soul will never fade and scarlet red is a hard color to remove.
When the prince pronounced his words of prophetic doom, the princess sadly left her happy castle. She knew then the bitter ashes of believing in a false dream, for surely if the prince had loved her as much as she loved him, he would have let the truth of her sweet voice combat the poison of the vile snake's lies. Tho the princess was mystified by the snake lies of her uncle, she had no other recourse in her abandonment but to return to the constrained prison of her lady aunt.
The princess once again donned her garbs of palest pink, applied her nude frost to cover her rosy lips, bound her hair up to hide it's gilded flame and kept her eyes downcast, to hide the keen perception that she now viewed the world around her.
For if poisonous lenses had covered the prince's eyes, her own had been washed clean. The princess clearly saw those around her as they truly were, not as she would like them to be and in her heart a tiny spark smouldered. Awaiting the touch that would spring it back into an inferno of flame and consume all that it encountered.
Even tho she was betrayed most bitterly by her snake uncle and lady aunt, the h still treated them with kindness. For she also had a most compassionate heart and a fair mindset and knew that she owed much of her security to their relentless pursuit of propriety and perfect control.
She continued to emulate the teachings of the lady aunt and soon the only hint of warmth about her was the sheer blush aura that sometimes flushed her cheeks or the startling flashes of vibrant color that illuminated her eyes under intense emotion.
It was this pale and refined figure that prince viewed upon his return to his homeland. Immediately a deep and dark longing filled the void that had held his soul and he knew that he would move mountains to possess that cold princess again and once more have her brightly burning flame in his possession.
Jealously remembering that the vile snake had told the prince that he sold the princess to him for pounds of gold and that the princess had willingly sacrificed herself for the love of the snake and his lady wife, the prince told the princess upon renewing their acquaintance that the debt of gold had not been repaid and it was up to the princess to set the debt aright.
The princess, flames of crimson flashing on her pale cheeks and sparks of green lightening flashing from her eyes when she spied the prince with his very nice female friend, knew in her heart of hearts that she longed for the touch of the prince's passion and wanted to set her own spark free. So she allowed herself to be wedded again to the prince, in the hopes that her seekrit heart's loving desire would crumble the ugly troll stone and restore the prince's own warm, beating heart.
The prince had no intention of losing his troll stone core, he relied on that stone to enforce his formidable will and make all who knew him tremble in the face of his potential wrath. But the princess was not iron to shatter or stone to be crushed. Her resistance to his fatal spikes of treacherous lust was fluid, passive, silvery aqueous will.
Where the prince would smash and conquer, she would flow mellifluously and resist, hoping against hope that the liquid healing of her long buried love would engender a minor miracle to erode the troll stone core and so they were wed.
This time the prince took her to no lovely castle, but an isolated primitive beach bach. There the prince began his pursuit of the princess's body to vent his lust upon and the princess let the waters of her resistance seep between his clasping fingers, escaping those piercing pricks. But it was so hard for the princess to resist the temptation to drown herself in the passion of his fiery kisses!
Through kettle burns and roof leaks, storms and lacy lingerie and lingering caresses by the prince that gradually became tender, the princess refused to give into the flames of putrid desire and eventually managed to steal the prince's buggy.
She crashed into a tree that had fallen during the terrible storm, but the prince once again rode to her rescue. He insisted on visiting the hospital for possible concussion and then he took the princess to her home, shocked to the core that the princess would risk danger to escape his salivating clutches.
In a sad confession the princess explained how she knew his accusatory words of tarty tramp promiscuity were true and revealed the ugly stain of scarlet red that branded her soul as it had that of her butterfly mother's. She told him how she knew the inflamed passions of her love repulsed him and how the poisonous touch of her unquenchable desire had burned his heart to ashes and left him with only the troll stone to rely on, just as her mother's had done to her long dead father.
But she also told him of her great and unending love for him. Not even to save her snaky uncle and lady aunt would she have married and loved any other man but him. Tho her young love was immature and childish in it's aspect, it was given with every ounce of sincerity she had.
And tho it might have been but a poor, innocent, simple kind of love - it was all the love she had to offer and it had never stopped loving, only grown and matured as the princess herself grew and matured and nothing would make her cast it asunder.
While listening to the sweet voiced confession and feeling the tears of the princess's lovely eyes fall upon his skin, the veils of ugliness that had covered the princes eyes faded out of his kenning and the prince felt the troll stone in his chest crumble to dust and his real heart start to beat.
The illusions and the poison that had blinded and bound him for so long melted away, the healing balm of the h's indomitable love poured over him and set his soul free to soar, as he and the princess merged their hearts and other parts in the golden light of blessed true love.
He told the princess that she was wrong, her light and passion had always been pure and she had always been a princess true. It was he who had been the poison and he hung his head in shame, as it was he and her snake relatives who had been deceptive and cruel.
They had all tainted the princess's pristine beauty and called it ugly, when it was him who was ignorant and uncouth. The restored prince humbly promised from the bottom of his mended heart that he would always love and care for her, to the end of time and beyond the heat death of universes, if only she would consent to stay with him.
As an act of redemption and remorse and in the hope for the princess's future trust, the prince rode off to save the vile snake's business and retire him to a tropical island with the lady aunt, where they could live their days in peace and not bother anyone but natives, who were head hunters and had very short tempers.
Then he returned to his loving princess to ask her to grant his fondest wish, that she remain his wife. The princess is the only wife he ever wanted and if they were blessed with children, he always and only wanted them to be hers, as he was always and only really hers - tho there might have been an unacceptable pallid copy of her now and then slipping out of his black satin sheets, but that would occur no more.
The princess leapt up with joy and cast off her pale pink robes of strangled sadness. She jumped around in a gypsy skirt of ruby red with a lovely lacy deep purple off the shoulder top. She unbound her gilded hair and danced a barefoot tarantella on the lawn, in celebration of the now restored prince to his charming, handsome, loving self.
Then the princess solemnly bound own heart into the princes' tender keeping. Both of them joyous together in the pure rainbow light of HPlandia forever true love for a truly happily ever after love of their lives celebration, the triumphant conquering princess exultant in the clutches of her own truly devoted prince of her soul.
The story starts when the h is 18, she goes to a party with her aunt and uncle and sees a tall, dark stranger across the crowded room, eyes meet and true love is found in a moment. The handsome, entrepreneurial young man, about ten years older than the girl, has found his princess reward and they start dating. When their lips meet, wild passion springs between them and the prince knows that he has only one option, to offer marriage to this innocent princess and carry her off to his castle.
In a whirlwind of passion and longing, the two wed and the nights of love are endless. But one day a snake uncle stole into the castle and the snake's vile lies spoken through a twisted tongue turned the already poisoned heart of the handsome young man to granite and caused a veil of ugly illusion to be cast over his eyes.
For the vile snake lies convinced the prince that money was the only reason his ugly, upstart self had ever won the hand of the princess, and that the princess was really only a pricey, tarty tramp who sold herself at the snake's behest, under the guise of pristine innocence and light.
The pure and loving princess was cast out of the castle in dire shame. Taunted for her passion and tormented with the knowledge that she was no princess in reality, but only a greedy, voracious tart, fit for nothing but the streets and a business loan.
The snake's evil lies had placed a spell on the handsome prince's heart, transforming it into a hideous troll stone and all that the blinded veiled eyes of the prince could see now was tainted by the colors of greed and gluttony and rapacious lust .
In the bitter aftermath of the prince's troll stone transformation, (the seeds of which were planted years earlier by greedy and ravening raptors, who betrayed his youthful innocence as he grew to manhood and extorted their reward for his care and feeding by demanding huge piles of gold), the prince fled to a far off land and the princess filed for a royal decree of dissolution of marriage.
While in the far off land, the prince made an immense fortune, loved countless beautiful but empty women and made a very nice female friend, who has her own princess story complete with magical cat in Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
But even tho he carried the ugly heart of troll stone, an endless yearning in the empty dark space that once contained the prince's soul drove him back to the land of his birth and forced him to seek out that one trampy tart Jezebel harlot who sold herself for gold for her greedy, vile, snaky uncle's failing business.
The princess herself was under another spell, cause those evil snakes use multiple illusions to preserve the mirage that they are all powerful and important kings of everything, but her spell was the offshoot of the black poison that turned the prince's heart.
For she believed his words of tarty trampy-hood - her own butterfly mother was the very same, branded scarlet with a Jezebel's name. The princess knew this because she watched the sad dirge of her butterfly mother's story play out with an older king, the h's long departed father. The princess's mother was beautiful, wise and witty and gay and married an aging king when perhaps a young, flirtatious knight would have been better suited.
Unfortunately young knights have very little income, so the princess's mother was urged by her reserved and dignified family to wed the aging king - who had no patience for witty and gay and beautiful butterflies. Eventually the aged king grew tired of the various flirtings and flyings and the terrible storms that ensued when nets where employed to harness the butterfly's wings.
The king abdicated and set off to wander where he would and garner a small fortune until he faded away, leaving behind a crippled butterfly who only longed for some kind knight to fix her wings and let her fly.
This led to many samplings of various knights, cobblers, butchers, bankers and other assorted types, but none had the patience to teach the butterfly to fly again and they all left in a rush when the storms became too great, many with harsh words and ugly epithets cast upon the princess's failing butterfly mother.
The princess's butterfly mother then turned to darker potions and dubious herbs from unsavory fields in an attempt to heal her wings and soar into the sky. It was one such journey, with a new potential knight, that caused the butterfly mother to leave the young princess with her reserved lady sister, who believed that a life well lived was a life of dignity, control and subdued demeanor with never an ounce of passion.
Tho the princess never felt very demure and longed for more colors than pale pink pastel, the little princess was very grateful for the safety of a snug and warm castle. So she learned to gain her lady aunt's approval by imitating her dignified, reserved restraint in all that she did and when royal decrees were ordered to keep her bound in her new pastel prison, the little princess stifled her yearnings and gratefully fitted in.
But never could she change her treacherous heart, that longed for wild purples to clash with her long gilded tresses and vivid teals that matched the liquid pools of her glowing, flashing eyes. However, the princess wanted very much to be accepted by her new caretakers and until she met the prince, was all that was perfectly proper and compliant.
After meeting the prince and the wonder of his kiss, the princess allowed her yearning heart to flow in the dream time of the prince's love, but she seekritly knew the lovely time of her princely delight just could not last. Stains of the soul will never fade and scarlet red is a hard color to remove.
When the prince pronounced his words of prophetic doom, the princess sadly left her happy castle. She knew then the bitter ashes of believing in a false dream, for surely if the prince had loved her as much as she loved him, he would have let the truth of her sweet voice combat the poison of the vile snake's lies. Tho the princess was mystified by the snake lies of her uncle, she had no other recourse in her abandonment but to return to the constrained prison of her lady aunt.
The princess once again donned her garbs of palest pink, applied her nude frost to cover her rosy lips, bound her hair up to hide it's gilded flame and kept her eyes downcast, to hide the keen perception that she now viewed the world around her.
For if poisonous lenses had covered the prince's eyes, her own had been washed clean. The princess clearly saw those around her as they truly were, not as she would like them to be and in her heart a tiny spark smouldered. Awaiting the touch that would spring it back into an inferno of flame and consume all that it encountered.
Even tho she was betrayed most bitterly by her snake uncle and lady aunt, the h still treated them with kindness. For she also had a most compassionate heart and a fair mindset and knew that she owed much of her security to their relentless pursuit of propriety and perfect control.
She continued to emulate the teachings of the lady aunt and soon the only hint of warmth about her was the sheer blush aura that sometimes flushed her cheeks or the startling flashes of vibrant color that illuminated her eyes under intense emotion.
It was this pale and refined figure that prince viewed upon his return to his homeland. Immediately a deep and dark longing filled the void that had held his soul and he knew that he would move mountains to possess that cold princess again and once more have her brightly burning flame in his possession.
Jealously remembering that the vile snake had told the prince that he sold the princess to him for pounds of gold and that the princess had willingly sacrificed herself for the love of the snake and his lady wife, the prince told the princess upon renewing their acquaintance that the debt of gold had not been repaid and it was up to the princess to set the debt aright.
The princess, flames of crimson flashing on her pale cheeks and sparks of green lightening flashing from her eyes when she spied the prince with his very nice female friend, knew in her heart of hearts that she longed for the touch of the prince's passion and wanted to set her own spark free. So she allowed herself to be wedded again to the prince, in the hopes that her seekrit heart's loving desire would crumble the ugly troll stone and restore the prince's own warm, beating heart.
The prince had no intention of losing his troll stone core, he relied on that stone to enforce his formidable will and make all who knew him tremble in the face of his potential wrath. But the princess was not iron to shatter or stone to be crushed. Her resistance to his fatal spikes of treacherous lust was fluid, passive, silvery aqueous will.
Where the prince would smash and conquer, she would flow mellifluously and resist, hoping against hope that the liquid healing of her long buried love would engender a minor miracle to erode the troll stone core and so they were wed.
This time the prince took her to no lovely castle, but an isolated primitive beach bach. There the prince began his pursuit of the princess's body to vent his lust upon and the princess let the waters of her resistance seep between his clasping fingers, escaping those piercing pricks. But it was so hard for the princess to resist the temptation to drown herself in the passion of his fiery kisses!
Through kettle burns and roof leaks, storms and lacy lingerie and lingering caresses by the prince that gradually became tender, the princess refused to give into the flames of putrid desire and eventually managed to steal the prince's buggy.
She crashed into a tree that had fallen during the terrible storm, but the prince once again rode to her rescue. He insisted on visiting the hospital for possible concussion and then he took the princess to her home, shocked to the core that the princess would risk danger to escape his salivating clutches.
In a sad confession the princess explained how she knew his accusatory words of tarty tramp promiscuity were true and revealed the ugly stain of scarlet red that branded her soul as it had that of her butterfly mother's. She told him how she knew the inflamed passions of her love repulsed him and how the poisonous touch of her unquenchable desire had burned his heart to ashes and left him with only the troll stone to rely on, just as her mother's had done to her long dead father.
But she also told him of her great and unending love for him. Not even to save her snaky uncle and lady aunt would she have married and loved any other man but him. Tho her young love was immature and childish in it's aspect, it was given with every ounce of sincerity she had.
And tho it might have been but a poor, innocent, simple kind of love - it was all the love she had to offer and it had never stopped loving, only grown and matured as the princess herself grew and matured and nothing would make her cast it asunder.
While listening to the sweet voiced confession and feeling the tears of the princess's lovely eyes fall upon his skin, the veils of ugliness that had covered the princes eyes faded out of his kenning and the prince felt the troll stone in his chest crumble to dust and his real heart start to beat.
The illusions and the poison that had blinded and bound him for so long melted away, the healing balm of the h's indomitable love poured over him and set his soul free to soar, as he and the princess merged their hearts and other parts in the golden light of blessed true love.
He told the princess that she was wrong, her light and passion had always been pure and she had always been a princess true. It was he who had been the poison and he hung his head in shame, as it was he and her snake relatives who had been deceptive and cruel.
They had all tainted the princess's pristine beauty and called it ugly, when it was him who was ignorant and uncouth. The restored prince humbly promised from the bottom of his mended heart that he would always love and care for her, to the end of time and beyond the heat death of universes, if only she would consent to stay with him.
As an act of redemption and remorse and in the hope for the princess's future trust, the prince rode off to save the vile snake's business and retire him to a tropical island with the lady aunt, where they could live their days in peace and not bother anyone but natives, who were head hunters and had very short tempers.
Then he returned to his loving princess to ask her to grant his fondest wish, that she remain his wife. The princess is the only wife he ever wanted and if they were blessed with children, he always and only wanted them to be hers, as he was always and only really hers - tho there might have been an unacceptable pallid copy of her now and then slipping out of his black satin sheets, but that would occur no more.
The princess leapt up with joy and cast off her pale pink robes of strangled sadness. She jumped around in a gypsy skirt of ruby red with a lovely lacy deep purple off the shoulder top. She unbound her gilded hair and danced a barefoot tarantella on the lawn, in celebration of the now restored prince to his charming, handsome, loving self.
Then the princess solemnly bound own heart into the princes' tender keeping. Both of them joyous together in the pure rainbow light of HPlandia forever true love for a truly happily ever after love of their lives celebration, the triumphant conquering princess exultant in the clutches of her own truly devoted prince of her soul.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2021
I'm giving this three stars for intensity, but it's really just an ok story for me. I found the H/h's motivations puzzling from the beginning and I didn't feel like much was resolved by the end. That they can't quit each other is very obvious and that is their HEA, I suppose.
This is a second chance story. The H/h married when she was 18. They had an intense sexual relationship that the heroine worried about because her mother was an out-of-control alcoholic and nymphomaniac and she didn't want to end up like her. The hero had been exploited by his parents and foster parents so when the h's uncle asked him for a loan, he blew up. He thought the h was just playing him for money and that she really didn't care. He throws her out.
Eight years later the heroine has divorced the hero, gone to university, and is now known as the "Stone Princess" because of her cool demeanor. The hero returns to NZ and demands she pay back the her uncle's loan. When she can't, he demands marriage. He needs to get over his obsession with her. (That's the excuse anyway)
They go to a remote cabin and the hero alternates between sneering and being nurturing when the heroine hurts herself or needs to eat. They go to bed together and then the hero takes off for a week. At his return they finally reveal what they were really thinking eight years before and . . . HEA.
Not a lot of action or logic, but a lot of intensity. As the old saying goes, there's a lid for every pot - and these two seem to go together because of their very specific hangups.
This is a second chance story. The H/h married when she was 18. They had an intense sexual relationship that the heroine worried about because her mother was an out-of-control alcoholic and nymphomaniac and she didn't want to end up like her. The hero had been exploited by his parents and foster parents so when the h's uncle asked him for a loan, he blew up. He thought the h was just playing him for money and that she really didn't care. He throws her out.
Eight years later the heroine has divorced the hero, gone to university, and is now known as the "Stone Princess" because of her cool demeanor. The hero returns to NZ and demands she pay back the her uncle's loan. When she can't, he demands marriage. He needs to get over his obsession with her. (That's the excuse anyway)
They go to a remote cabin and the hero alternates between sneering and being nurturing when the heroine hurts herself or needs to eat. They go to bed together and then the hero takes off for a week. At his return they finally reveal what they were really thinking eight years before and . . . HEA.
Not a lot of action or logic, but a lot of intensity. As the old saying goes, there's a lid for every pot - and these two seem to go together because of their very specific hangups.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2019
"The Stone Princess" is the story of Petra and Caine.
ARGH.
If you want to read a book which would make you want to pull out your hair out of anger and frustration, this would be it.
Book begins when the h is 18 & lives with her uncle and aunt who had adopted her- meets the much older hero and falls head over heels. Despite protests from her guardians, accepts his offer of marriage and gives up her hymen to him, only to realize he was using her. He thinks of her as a conniving whore who used him so her uncle could borrow money from him, and abandons her.
It's implied that they divorce.
Fast forward 8 years later- h is now successful in her own right and runs charities. Her past has made her cynical, and she now is referred to as stone princess. H returns, and wants her back. He harasses and blackmails her while slut shaming and abusing her, and what does she do? Marry him again. Why? Because despite being humiliated and mistreated a dozen times at least, she cannot get over her attraction for him.
Honestly, I wanted to shake the h and slap the H. Like the instance when she hears women bitching about her- why didn't she go and confront them? Why couldn't she maintain her "mask" to frustrate the hero? Why didn't she give back even 1% of what she got? AAARGHH.
The reveal at the end is anti-climatic. I know the couple was divorced, but why did he get to sleep around while she wallowed in pain, rejecting men. PFFT.
Did not like this one.
Unsafe
1.5/5
ARGH.
If you want to read a book which would make you want to pull out your hair out of anger and frustration, this would be it.
Book begins when the h is 18 & lives with her uncle and aunt who had adopted her- meets the much older hero and falls head over heels. Despite protests from her guardians, accepts his offer of marriage and gives up her hymen to him, only to realize he was using her. He thinks of her as a conniving whore who used him so her uncle could borrow money from him, and abandons her.
It's implied that they divorce.
Fast forward 8 years later- h is now successful in her own right and runs charities. Her past has made her cynical, and she now is referred to as stone princess. H returns, and wants her back. He harasses and blackmails her while slut shaming and abusing her, and what does she do? Marry him again. Why? Because despite being humiliated and mistreated a dozen times at least, she cannot get over her attraction for him.
Honestly, I wanted to shake the h and slap the H. Like the instance when she hears women bitching about her- why didn't she go and confront them? Why couldn't she maintain her "mask" to frustrate the hero? Why didn't she give back even 1% of what she got? AAARGHH.
The reveal at the end is anti-climatic. I know the couple was divorced, but why did he get to sleep around while she wallowed in pain, rejecting men. PFFT.
Did not like this one.
Unsafe
1.5/5
June 21, 2012
Good intense read,full of angsty and tension,Caine-Petra both were likeable characters but would have preferred if Caine would have soften later on as story progressed but he continued to be cruel and kept taunting Petra and the mistrust was also there almost till the end.Though the story line keeps you gripped throughout the book but what disappointed me lack of love from Caine's side.Petra's love you can feel it through the whole story but from Caine's part it was never felt.He was mean cruel and always taunting humiliating Petra,the love which he professed in the end would have preferred it to be a little earlier.
Also other things that disappointed me was
-Even after knowing that her uncle lied to her Petra never confronts him
-There is this weird person who calls and only breaths in the phone,it was never solved,who is that person-why was he calling nothing it was left unsolved
-Would have liked Caine's POV but we got only Petra's POV.
Overall the story was good,i enjoyed it.
Recommend it.
Also other things that disappointed me was
-Even after knowing that her uncle lied to her Petra never confronts him
-There is this weird person who calls and only breaths in the phone,it was never solved,who is that person-why was he calling nothing it was left unsolved
-Would have liked Caine's POV but we got only Petra's POV.
Overall the story was good,i enjoyed it.
Recommend it.
February 4, 2019
I loved boogenhagen's review here and kept it in mind as I read.
One thing that really bothered me, though, was that at the end Caine was devastated when Petra revealed that she thought he left her 8 years previous because he thought she was like her mother (see boogenhagen's review). He told her "It didn't disgust me, it didn't make me think that you were anything like your poor, tragic, neurotic mother." And yet on that day 8 years previous when Caine sent Petra away, he compared her to her mother, calling her a "whore, eager to hawk your favours to the highest bidder".
There was a lot of angst in this book as each character had been damaged in the past by those who should have loved them, and each reacted because of those betrayals.
One thing that really bothered me, though, was that at the end Caine was devastated when Petra revealed that she thought he left her 8 years previous because he thought she was like her mother (see boogenhagen's review). He told her "It didn't disgust me, it didn't make me think that you were anything like your poor, tragic, neurotic mother." And yet on that day 8 years previous when Caine sent Petra away, he compared her to her mother, calling her a "whore, eager to hawk your favours to the highest bidder".
There was a lot of angst in this book as each character had been damaged in the past by those who should have loved them, and each reacted because of those betrayals.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2020
1 Star and if I could give it less then I would.
I hate this book with every fiber of my being . I swear if I have the ability I would delete it and remove it from the face of the planet. This is the kind of books that reminded me why I stopped reading harlequin's books. Disgusting men and stupid women.
I will spoil this book from the beginning to the end so if you want to read the book which I recommend you don't do this mistake you should probably ignore my review. Also, I used so many bad words because I'm really angry so if you don't want to read such things then don't continue.
This book is about a horny stupid woman goes by the name of Petra. She met this hot, tall, handsome guy on her eighteenth birthday and decided to jump on the bandwagon and ride his wand. Oh, and by the way, this guy is 12 years older than her so, he is supposed to be the smart person who knows the right and wrong but of course he couldn't control his lust, so he end up taking her virginity. Now this idiot teenager had an uncle who forced the guy to marry her and she spend two months doing nothing but being horny with him. Then one day our billionaire guy came and told her that she is nothing but a sl*t just like her mother which by the way she was a woman who jumps from one man to another and people said a lot of bad things about her bc if that , but Petra was taken by her aunt and uncle away from the toxic environment of her mother. Anyway, the a**hole tells Petra that her uncle told him that she sold herself to save him and his factory from bankruptcy so the hero kicked her out.
Here is where I got really pissed off.
The fact that she is an absolute idiot who didn't figure out that her uncle is nothing but a fucking manipulating moron who will do everything to stay in his fancy lifestyle even if it meant selling her and there were evidence that he saw her as an image of her mother made me so mad that I want to put a bullet into her stupid head and rescue the world from her stupidity. And when she confronts him she doesn't even demand that he makes things right no, she just accepts to be their usual idiotic good girl.
Fast-forward 8 years later, she became the stone princess who cover her emotions by a layer of ice. The hero comes again and tells her that he wants what her uncle owes him but she can repay it by marrying his stupid face again all because he felt angry because she sat at a restaurant with a friend, and like the horny teenager she was, she accepts to sacrifice herself and to sell her house all to save the best loving and caring uncle and aunt , even though Caine spend most of the book calling her names. This is where I had enough with this bastard, I will never ever like a guy who is supposed to be the hero of a book to call his woman by ugly names. And all what this ignorant woman talked about while he kept doing that over and over is how hot he is and how she wanted to lick, suck and taste his skin. Bitch are you fucking kidding me ???
The level of stupidity of the heroine in this book is tremendous. The weaknesses of this woman made me sick. How am I suppose to cheer for them to be together when I'm disgusted by Caine and everything he did to Petra.
So when something happens, and she start talking about her mother, he had the audacity to tell her that she isn't like her mother when in every corner of this book he kept saying so. Honestly, I thought this book couldn't get any worse but boy oh boy was I wrong.
We reach the confrontation part and when I read it I was like, please tell me there is a way to kill these two. Here are some lines from the book and my thoughts on them. First there is this sentence that is dead by the king or morons himself which made my blood boil.
'I came back because I've never been able to get you out of my mind.'
It took this piece of shit 8 years to realize that he needs to go back and try again with her
Adoring him for his consideration, she smiled mistily. 'I love you,' she said with soft invitation. 'And you've tried very hard to convince me that desire is a normal and necessary part of love.'
When bitch?? When exactly did he convinced you? The only thing that he said is that he wasn't disgusted by your lust that you showed him whenever you wanted to get some which was a lot because he was so perfect, muscular, and tall and sexy.
'Dear heart, my princess, I have never stopped loving you. Never. That's why I left you the first time; the pain was so great I couldn't stand to be in the same country as you. That's why I've never married again, even though I wanted a wife and children, because the wife had toyears but be you, and the children had to be yours...'
The bitch stayed celibate for 8 years because she couldn't forget his ability in bed while he had some women but he only thought of her? I'm shocked and I'm out of words.
'Is it too late for us, Petra? Have I made too many mistakes?'
No baby you didn't, you were the perfect gentleman who deserves a medal for being a Fucking moron the whole book. So give this guy another chance Petra because our boys wants it and your lady parts is beginning for it.
And last but not least we have the main plot in 99% of harlequin's books that authors seems to really enjoy writing about, the problematic past that the hero suffered by his parents so that the heroine feel sorry for the guy and forgevie every insult she endured.
I own the Arabic virson of this book which is called "وجهك وضوء القمر" which I will probably burn after I post my review, and I also have the English and thank God for that because there is a lot of differences. If I only read the Arabic one, I would have probably gave e this book 4 stars because so many things are deleted, and they made the hero looks like he never said anything harmful which is why it took me two days to finish it bc I reached a point in the English virson that I had to throw the book for an entire day so that my anger disappear and I can force myself to finish reading it.
I hate this book I hate the characters, their actions and behaviors, everything about it is stupid. No redeeming quality for anything in it. Just ignore the book and don't try it bc it's not worth your time or money.
I hate this book with every fiber of my being . I swear if I have the ability I would delete it and remove it from the face of the planet. This is the kind of books that reminded me why I stopped reading harlequin's books. Disgusting men and stupid women.
I will spoil this book from the beginning to the end so if you want to read the book which I recommend you don't do this mistake you should probably ignore my review. Also, I used so many bad words because I'm really angry so if you don't want to read such things then don't continue.
This book is about a horny stupid woman goes by the name of Petra. She met this hot, tall, handsome guy on her eighteenth birthday and decided to jump on the bandwagon and ride his wand. Oh, and by the way, this guy is 12 years older than her so, he is supposed to be the smart person who knows the right and wrong but of course he couldn't control his lust, so he end up taking her virginity. Now this idiot teenager had an uncle who forced the guy to marry her and she spend two months doing nothing but being horny with him. Then one day our billionaire guy came and told her that she is nothing but a sl*t just like her mother which by the way she was a woman who jumps from one man to another and people said a lot of bad things about her bc if that , but Petra was taken by her aunt and uncle away from the toxic environment of her mother. Anyway, the a**hole tells Petra that her uncle told him that she sold herself to save him and his factory from bankruptcy so the hero kicked her out.
Here is where I got really pissed off.
The fact that she is an absolute idiot who didn't figure out that her uncle is nothing but a fucking manipulating moron who will do everything to stay in his fancy lifestyle even if it meant selling her and there were evidence that he saw her as an image of her mother made me so mad that I want to put a bullet into her stupid head and rescue the world from her stupidity. And when she confronts him she doesn't even demand that he makes things right no, she just accepts to be their usual idiotic good girl.
Fast-forward 8 years later, she became the stone princess who cover her emotions by a layer of ice. The hero comes again and tells her that he wants what her uncle owes him but she can repay it by marrying his stupid face again all because he felt angry because she sat at a restaurant with a friend, and like the horny teenager she was, she accepts to sacrifice herself and to sell her house all to save the best loving and caring uncle and aunt , even though Caine spend most of the book calling her names. This is where I had enough with this bastard, I will never ever like a guy who is supposed to be the hero of a book to call his woman by ugly names. And all what this ignorant woman talked about while he kept doing that over and over is how hot he is and how she wanted to lick, suck and taste his skin. Bitch are you fucking kidding me ???
The level of stupidity of the heroine in this book is tremendous. The weaknesses of this woman made me sick. How am I suppose to cheer for them to be together when I'm disgusted by Caine and everything he did to Petra.
So when something happens, and she start talking about her mother, he had the audacity to tell her that she isn't like her mother when in every corner of this book he kept saying so. Honestly, I thought this book couldn't get any worse but boy oh boy was I wrong.
We reach the confrontation part and when I read it I was like, please tell me there is a way to kill these two. Here are some lines from the book and my thoughts on them. First there is this sentence that is dead by the king or morons himself which made my blood boil.
'I came back because I've never been able to get you out of my mind.'
It took this piece of shit 8 years to realize that he needs to go back and try again with her
Adoring him for his consideration, she smiled mistily. 'I love you,' she said with soft invitation. 'And you've tried very hard to convince me that desire is a normal and necessary part of love.'
When bitch?? When exactly did he convinced you? The only thing that he said is that he wasn't disgusted by your lust that you showed him whenever you wanted to get some which was a lot because he was so perfect, muscular, and tall and sexy.
'Dear heart, my princess, I have never stopped loving you. Never. That's why I left you the first time; the pain was so great I couldn't stand to be in the same country as you. That's why I've never married again, even though I wanted a wife and children, because the wife had toyears but be you, and the children had to be yours...'
The bitch stayed celibate for 8 years because she couldn't forget his ability in bed while he had some women but he only thought of her? I'm shocked and I'm out of words.
'Is it too late for us, Petra? Have I made too many mistakes?'
No baby you didn't, you were the perfect gentleman who deserves a medal for being a Fucking moron the whole book. So give this guy another chance Petra because our boys wants it and your lady parts is beginning for it.
And last but not least we have the main plot in 99% of harlequin's books that authors seems to really enjoy writing about, the problematic past that the hero suffered by his parents so that the heroine feel sorry for the guy and forgevie every insult she endured.
I own the Arabic virson of this book which is called "وجهك وضوء القمر" which I will probably burn after I post my review, and I also have the English and thank God for that because there is a lot of differences. If I only read the Arabic one, I would have probably gave e this book 4 stars because so many things are deleted, and they made the hero looks like he never said anything harmful which is why it took me two days to finish it bc I reached a point in the English virson that I had to throw the book for an entire day so that my anger disappear and I can force myself to finish reading it.
I hate this book I hate the characters, their actions and behaviors, everything about it is stupid. No redeeming quality for anything in it. Just ignore the book and don't try it bc it's not worth your time or money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2017
I'm going with a 3.5 on this one, which is pretty different because my reading experience has shown that I don't generally like this author's stories.
When she's 18, Petra is introduced to Caine Fleming, ten years her senior and wealthy. The attraction brings them together and, even though Caine tries to break things off, knowing she's too young and inexperienced for her, he fails. So, he marries her, but a month later he confronts her with the knowledge that her uncle sold her to him for a business loan and that he's appalled that Petra would have gone along with it. Petra however, suspects that her insecurities have come to the fore and that Caine is ending things because he's disgusted by her passion and is using this as an excuse to end things. This is reinforced by the fact that he refuses to believe in Petra's innocence and leaves, so she files for divorce. 8 years later, having been so hurt by her own passion and feelings, Petra has hidden them perfectly and is known as a stone princess, unmoved by anything, including Caine. But Caine refuses to accept this version of Petra and does what he can to bring out the passionate woman he knows is in there. He even blackmails her into marriage. Petra begins to realize that she's still in love with Caine and is devastated that he still doesn't believe in her innocence.
As I said, I was impressed with this one. Petra and Caine have an intensely passionate start and I really liked that beginning. I also liked how Petra, 8 years later and totally transformed because of the hurt, affected Caine so much while she was able to continue to deny the passion between them. For once the heroine did not fall into the heroes arms because of a little lust - the real issues between them and the one that Petra imagined kept her from becoming a doormat. I also liked that Caine, who was definitely at fault for their separation, Petra's heartbreak and her change in personality, was able to realize his fault, apologize for it and feel guilty about it. I still think he needed to grovel a bit more and wallow in his guilt, but his dealing with it was pretty satisfactory. I do hate that she had to wheedle an "I love you" out of him after bearing her heart to him. I also didn't care for the fact that the heroine had remained celibate while the hero did not...but that's fairly typical of the time period in which this was written.
I also didn't appreciate the cliche, it-was-for-the-best line. I'm sorry, but when a man's actions affect the heroine so much that she lives a half-live for 8 years, cuts herself off emotionally from others and she lives believing herself at fault for all of it, those actions were not for the best. Petra claims that they were too young and the 8 years matured her - maybe true, but at what cost? And unfortunately, that statement, that "we might have made something of our marriage, but I was too young, and even then I knew that we shouldn't have married. I'm glad we had these years apart. I matured in lots of ways," basically makes a pittance of the damage the hero's actions did. If she's totally okay with everything that happened and is actually better off for it, then why the struggle through the book. I prefer it when an author let's the characters struggle with what happened, admit that it had an effect (not necessarily for the best) and move on together, stronger and more secure in their love. This seems like a quick (and dare I say lazy?) way to alleviate any hard feelings and leave everything happy and hunky dory. It always unsettles me when I see this sort of thing.
When she's 18, Petra is introduced to Caine Fleming, ten years her senior and wealthy. The attraction brings them together and, even though Caine tries to break things off, knowing she's too young and inexperienced for her, he fails. So, he marries her, but a month later he confronts her with the knowledge that her uncle sold her to him for a business loan and that he's appalled that Petra would have gone along with it. Petra however, suspects that her insecurities have come to the fore and that Caine is ending things because he's disgusted by her passion and is using this as an excuse to end things. This is reinforced by the fact that he refuses to believe in Petra's innocence and leaves, so she files for divorce. 8 years later, having been so hurt by her own passion and feelings, Petra has hidden them perfectly and is known as a stone princess, unmoved by anything, including Caine. But Caine refuses to accept this version of Petra and does what he can to bring out the passionate woman he knows is in there. He even blackmails her into marriage. Petra begins to realize that she's still in love with Caine and is devastated that he still doesn't believe in her innocence.
As I said, I was impressed with this one. Petra and Caine have an intensely passionate start and I really liked that beginning. I also liked how Petra, 8 years later and totally transformed because of the hurt, affected Caine so much while she was able to continue to deny the passion between them. For once the heroine did not fall into the heroes arms because of a little lust - the real issues between them and the one that Petra imagined kept her from becoming a doormat. I also liked that Caine, who was definitely at fault for their separation, Petra's heartbreak and her change in personality, was able to realize his fault, apologize for it and feel guilty about it. I still think he needed to grovel a bit more and wallow in his guilt, but his dealing with it was pretty satisfactory. I do hate that she had to wheedle an "I love you" out of him after bearing her heart to him. I also didn't care for the fact that the heroine had remained celibate while the hero did not...but that's fairly typical of the time period in which this was written.
I also didn't appreciate the cliche, it-was-for-the-best line. I'm sorry, but when a man's actions affect the heroine so much that she lives a half-live for 8 years, cuts herself off emotionally from others and she lives believing herself at fault for all of it, those actions were not for the best. Petra claims that they were too young and the 8 years matured her - maybe true, but at what cost? And unfortunately, that statement, that "we might have made something of our marriage, but I was too young, and even then I knew that we shouldn't have married. I'm glad we had these years apart. I matured in lots of ways," basically makes a pittance of the damage the hero's actions did. If she's totally okay with everything that happened and is actually better off for it, then why the struggle through the book. I prefer it when an author let's the characters struggle with what happened, admit that it had an effect (not necessarily for the best) and move on together, stronger and more secure in their love. This seems like a quick (and dare I say lazy?) way to alleviate any hard feelings and leave everything happy and hunky dory. It always unsettles me when I see this sort of thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2021
Oh boy, this book does not age well.
Would you stay with someone who accuses you of being a whore, for prostituting yourself, who continuously tries to hurt you with his snide remarks? Who simply doesn't trust you, and who acts as if you were his property?
This is the vibe that I get from this book. Petra should have gone far, far away. Let the company and adopted parents suffer. Stay away from the drama and the man. So he has trust issues, so he has been hurt in the past, but what he does in this book is intolerable.
She's not particularly bright, either. Maybe in a way they deserve each other. But it makes me really, really angry.
Would you stay with someone who accuses you of being a whore, for prostituting yourself, who continuously tries to hurt you with his snide remarks? Who simply doesn't trust you, and who acts as if you were his property?
This is the vibe that I get from this book. Petra should have gone far, far away. Let the company and adopted parents suffer. Stay away from the drama and the man. So he has trust issues, so he has been hurt in the past, but what he does in this book is intolerable.
She's not particularly bright, either. Maybe in a way they deserve each other. But it makes me really, really angry.
April 18, 2024
Looks like the editorial team did a hatchet job towards the end. The grovel as what it is called. Bored me.
I like how Robyn Donald writes. But I find her logic for keeping the hero and heroine apart is usually very flimsy.
Feel like slapping some sense into the characters.
They’ll both say I love you. Then a minute later they are asking why don’t you love me?
How would such people survive?
Can’t exactly sum up the story.
It was nicer than any book which comes out of this stable now.
The current generation is plastic. Plastic emotions. Plastic thoughts. Plastic lives.
I like how Robyn Donald writes. But I find her logic for keeping the hero and heroine apart is usually very flimsy.
Feel like slapping some sense into the characters.
They’ll both say I love you. Then a minute later they are asking why don’t you love me?
How would such people survive?
Can’t exactly sum up the story.
It was nicer than any book which comes out of this stable now.
The current generation is plastic. Plastic emotions. Plastic thoughts. Plastic lives.
July 12, 2024
She was 18, he was 28 when they met. She was too hot for him and I think he was just flattered. I didn’t feel the love.
When he came back after 8 years and demanded she’d choose between becoming his mistress or becoming his wife, she chose to marry him. Why choose a lifelong commitment with someone who blackmails you. That’s where the story got stupid. I DNF’ed.
When he came back after 8 years and demanded she’d choose between becoming his mistress or becoming his wife, she chose to marry him. Why choose a lifelong commitment with someone who blackmails you. That’s where the story got stupid. I DNF’ed.
May 15, 2012
4.5 stars -- I really liked this one! Reunited lovers, very angsty storyline -- right up my alley. And enough glimpses of the hero's true feelings when he sees the heroine injured or has to care for her, which lets you excuse most of his bad behavior (which wasn't as terrible as in some HPs). Some weird unexplained plot points (the unknown repeated heavy breather on the phone? I guess that was supposed to be the result of random dialing?), and I didn't like the nickname "Princess," but overall a very good read.
August 13, 2017
Rating 2/5
Not a book I would readily recommend.
The plot idea was great and potentially it should have been a great read, but somehow both characters just ended up annoying me a little bit throughout the book.
Can't even explain why. Maybe they were just so different to me that I just couldn't relate to them at all or maybe because it felt that the whole short story was dragged out in repeat motions over many many pages....
It was okay, but not memorable enough and not on-the-edge-of-your-seat read.
Not a book I would readily recommend.
The plot idea was great and potentially it should have been a great read, but somehow both characters just ended up annoying me a little bit throughout the book.
Can't even explain why. Maybe they were just so different to me that I just couldn't relate to them at all or maybe because it felt that the whole short story was dragged out in repeat motions over many many pages....
It was okay, but not memorable enough and not on-the-edge-of-your-seat read.
April 11, 2018
I always wonder how HQ heroines fall asleep so deeply during a car ride and they also manage to keep sleeping through being carried from a car to a bed. Even most of children raise their heads and look around to see what is going on before they go back to sleep when they are carried. This h was even able to sleep entire night without once waking up after being carried by H from the car.
I know I know! I am too picky and particular about these kind of unrealistic mambo-jumbo. Still not that I don't like Robyn Donald books. On the contrary, I enjoy her books very much.
I know I know! I am too picky and particular about these kind of unrealistic mambo-jumbo. Still not that I don't like Robyn Donald books. On the contrary, I enjoy her books very much.
March 29, 2024
Yuck. The writing was exceptionally bad in this one, I don't know why. The hero sucks, the greedy uncle doesn't have to atone for what he did to his niece and her life. The poor heroine has nothing to do, just kinda mopes around til the hero says mean things then leaves, then comes back then says mean things and doesn't believe her. She said 'I had nothing to do with that' and he doesn't believe her til the last chapter. He is a loser and I wish she moved on from him. Skip, not a good story and badly written.
August 5, 2019
OK read but it was pretty low angst for a RD book.
May 24, 2020
A middling second-chance story from RD that has all the elements but felt formulaic and a bit wooden.
A bit "meh," with RD stock characters that come off one-dimensional. We catch a brief glimpse of Cathy from Love's Reward but don't even get to say hello. Not one of RDs best but still a decent and quick read.
A bit "meh," with RD stock characters that come off one-dimensional. We catch a brief glimpse of Cathy from Love's Reward but don't even get to say hello. Not one of RDs best but still a decent and quick read.
August 14, 2021
This book could have been solved, and they could have saved 8 years if they would FULLY communicate (i.e. spill the beans) or.... ONE HAD FAITH IN THE OTHER.
The Stone Princess tells a tale of a woman who lives with her aunt and uncle. On her 18th birthday she meets the ten-year-older Caine Fleming, he is rugged and handsome, they fall in love and they have a passionate night before ending it. Until they marry, before breaking up and divorcing. Eight years pass and we fully uncover why they divorced and the secrets they both hold.
My grandmother and I were reading this together and we absolutely loved it!
May 15, 2021
Plenty of intense emotions. Petra was very young but even so her love for Caine came across as genuine. He obviously lusted after her but I wasn't feeling the love. Also his accusations of her being a slut and promiscuous just like her mother seemed a bit crazy considering her obvious enjoyment in lovemaking would have been only to his advantage. The break up didn't seem real nor the coming together again. A good read. Intense. But missing something to make the HEA seem real.
November 30, 2017
An OK story and the end was a bit too drawn out.
March 20, 2019
3.5 stars
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May 10, 2024Old reads
March 17, 2019
Once upon a time...
Exciting, dangerous men do not make good husbands. But neither do excitable, passionate adolescents make reasonable wives. And so, with a little help from a big misunderstanding, Petra's marriage to New Zealand businessman Caine Fleming had failed very quickly.
In the eight years since Caine had left, Petra had grown up-hiding her pain behind a glossy, brittle mask of sophistication. Now her cool demeanor only makes Caine more determined to break through that calm, serene shield to force the real Petra Fleming out of hiding-and turn the stone princess back into a passionate woman.
Exciting, dangerous men do not make good husbands. But neither do excitable, passionate adolescents make reasonable wives. And so, with a little help from a big misunderstanding, Petra's marriage to New Zealand businessman Caine Fleming had failed very quickly.
In the eight years since Caine had left, Petra had grown up-hiding her pain behind a glossy, brittle mask of sophistication. Now her cool demeanor only makes Caine more determined to break through that calm, serene shield to force the real Petra Fleming out of hiding-and turn the stone princess back into a passionate woman.
April 7, 2013
Ah bu ilk görüşte aşık olan toy kızlar yok mu..? Hep te kendilerinden yaşça büyüklere aşık olurlar..
Ne garip değil mi? İşte bu da onlardan biri.
Ne garip değil mi? İşte bu da onlardan biri.
April 18, 2015
Impossibly impressive.....loved every bit of it...every thread and yarn of the plot is so believable.
Stone Princess is marvelous so is her better-half :)
Stone Princess is marvelous so is her better-half :)
July 17, 2010
Decidedly meh.
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