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La noche de bodas
El día de su boda, Molly y Sholto se habían separado. La ruptura alcanzó los titulares de los periódicos, pero nadie sabía por qué no se había consumado su matrimonio.
Molly se había jurado que nada la convencería de compartir la cama de Sholto, pero sabía que su hermano le debía una fuerte cantidad de dinero... Sholto le propuso un trato: se olvidaría de la deuda si Molly consentía en irse a vivir con él.
Entonces, Molly se encontró con un nuevo dilema: era la ex mujer de Sholto y su amante... y pronto sería la madre de su hijo.
Molly se había jurado que nada la convencería de compartir la cama de Sholto, pero sabía que su hermano le debía una fuerte cantidad de dinero... Sholto le propuso un trato: se olvidaría de la deuda si Molly consentía en irse a vivir con él.
Entonces, Molly se encontró con un nuevo dilema: era la ex mujer de Sholto y su amante... y pronto sería la madre de su hijo.
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1997
99 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,763 books1,450 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
January 28, 2019
Re Mistress and Mother - Lynne Graham brings us a couple that manages to bicker their way to the HEA in this one. While it has a TON of drama, it can be a bit wearing on those HP Voyagers who aren't inspired by bitter, shouted emotional exchanges every chapter.
So be warned before reading this, this couple fights and argues and frequently try to verbally one up each other. While the h is no slouch in the angry Italian shouting drama, the H is a very typical arrogant LG H and usually manages to twist the h's very valid feelings into shame for daring to be so above herself as to think she is an equal in the relationship.
This one starts with the h travelling to the H's now deceased uncle's former home. She has decided to ask the H if he will help her idiot brother and his equally idiot wife sort out their very messy financial situation.
It seems the h's brother knows gardening and got the H to loan him money for a garden center four years earlier. At the time, the h was 20 and was going to marry the 27 yr old H. They met by accident when they literally ran into each other and the H was fascinated by the naive, but voluptuous, prim small town h.
The H's courtship seriously irked his female cousin, who is a brilliant evil OW in the best classic style. There were months of catty remarks, criticisms of the h's looks, hair, weight and the woman deliberately encouraged the rest of the H's social circle to participate in the h's bullying.
The h was desperately in love and desperately trying to fit in. Her mother and her stepfather were the disapproving, stern ministerial types and they also DID NOT APPROVE. The H, in his typical ramming the barriers down fashion, threw away any attempts at diplomacy with them and pretty much arranged everything to his liking - which may or may not have been in line with what the h wanted.
The H resolved every one of the h's valid concerns by either dismissing them, or when she finally lost her temper and had a ranty moment, taking off on a jungle adventure for three weeks as a way of manipulating her emotionally by telling her he thought maybe he should call off the wedding.
So by the time the wedding day had actually arrived, the h was a bundle of nerves and sporting a rather mismatched, almost clownish look. She was so fraught she appeared intoxicated and then her world came crashing down at the wedding reception.
The OW cousin manipulated things to where the h overheard a conversation that seemed to indicate the OW and the H were lovers and that he was only marrying the h for a broodmare for his children. The blinders fell with a thud from the h's eyes and she was pretty irately hysterical on the wedding night.
The H had no patience for this behavior and took off, only to be photographed leaving the OW's flat at dawn and when the h saw the tabloids, she decided enough was enough a took off for a friend's house.
The H showed up at the h's stepfather's home and he phoned the police, inciting more of a tabloid frenzy. The friend the h was staying with spilled all the beans about the slime swiller cousin OW and in a well deserved stroke of LG justice, the OW cousin was vilified in the tabloid press.
The h never intended any of this regarding the OW to get out, but she also wasn't too unhappy about it, the OW cousin had done a really good job of wrecking the h's life.
Four years on the h needs the H's help and their first meeting winds up being another crashing moment as the H tackles the h in the dark of his late uncle's home. There is a bitter exchange about the failed marriage that ended in annulment and the H proves he can hold a mean grudge when he details the horrible treatment his beloved OW cousin got in the press.
The H also threatens the h's brother and his family with fraud charges and homelessness. The h probably wouldn't mind so much if it was just her brother or his pathetic limpet wife, but they also have two small children and the h feels that the H giving them so much money without proper supervision was largely to blame.
The H tries to deny his collusion in her brother's downfall, but the h doesn't want to hear it and she is tired and it is cold and snowing, so she goes to bed. Only to find that there is only one bed in the house and the H expects her to share it.
The h protests, she is almost engaged to another priggish minister type, but the H gets his way and of course the inevitable unicorn grooming license revocation ensues. The next morning the H claims her chastity removal was his revenge and the h is once again done with this unrepentant toad of an H.
But this is LG and her H's be cagey, the H shows up at the h's work and it is clear that he still has a yen for the h. He tries to proposition her, but the h is having none of that and her verbal H smackdown made me want to run and hide.
So the H has an overnight think about things and comes up with the plan that he will bail her brother and family out if the h will move in with him as his personal tart. The h almost passes out from the shock of the H's implications, but we can tell that this H is deeply hooked and doing everything to get the h back without losing the whip hand.
The thought of her niece's and nephew's sad little faces make the h agree to the H's proposition. The H is pleased as punch and can't understand why the h keeps making tarty harlot references. The h is also having bouts of nausea and a quick look at her day planner makes her think about emergency pregnancy tests.
The H and h have another fight about what a bovine snot snarfer the H's beloved OW cousin is and the H loses his temper again, so he has to turn things around and blame the h for being childish and vindictive.
Then the h makes the big surprise! discovery (not), that she is preggers. The H is delighted, but the h calls him a toad and tells him she won't marry him. The h still believes that the H wants a broodmare and while she may have to play his tart for hire, she has no intention of being trapped into a marriage where she will be second best and patronized for life.
Enter the smarmy, prig ex almost fiance. He guilts the h into marrying the H by pounding it into her head that she is selfish to want to actually have a happy, loving marriage and raise her child with two marginally compatible with each other parents.
The h decides that the baby should have his father and the ex almost fiancee fades away, hopefully to be hit by a train on his way home.
The H and h marry after the pathetic worm of a sister in law expresses shock over the h's scarlet dress and insists that the H would have married the OW cousin if he really loved her after he and the h separated.
The h has been speculating and thinking about the various tidbits she has heard about the H's family in the privacy of her mind, and she guesses it might be hard to legally marry a woman who is probably your biological half sister. (It appears the H's father liked to spread it around a bit and the OW's mother was said to be exceptionally seductive and lovely.)
But the h keeps her thoughts to herself and then the pathetic worm of sister in law is booted off, hopefully to a very low oxygen planet where she can just sit and vegetate.
The big wedding night surprise for the h is that the H has totally played her. The H's uncle left her a vase that was worth half a million pounds and the h could have sold it to bail out her brother. The H knew this and deliberately withheld the information - until one of his friend's mentions it in front of the h.
The H then decides that the best honeymoon ever will be to take the h to the secluded island house where his father took his lady buffet samples. The h, who was starting to have doubts about the H's complicity with his cousin OW, is now reminded that this H was raised in an environment where mistresses were kept openly and she can only wonder if the H is keeping his cousin OW in New York to be his main dish while she resides on the broodmare side.
The h and H have another argument about the H's lack of seduction attempts during their first engagement. The H unbends enough to explain that he had heard the h's stepfather berating her like she was some kind of fallen woman for coming home late from a date, so he daren't take things any further as her stepfather would have abused her more.
Then the H clues the h in that he never told her about the vase's value cause he wanted to get her into his clutches - astoundingly he also confesses he acted like a sewer swilling rat the morning after their first purple passion moment, and the h is so gobsmacked she falls easily in with his grand plan o'seduction.
The H and h finally seem to work their differences out and the honeymoon goes pretty swimmingly. Until they are going back to England and the h finds out that the cousin OW, who was supposed to be marrying someone else, has broken her engagement and the h decides to test the H.
This leads to the big revelation that the h believes the H is in love with the OW, but unable to do anything about it because the OW is his half sister. This stunning lack of trust seems to anger the H, just what kind of men does she think his family has anyway, and he has a huge ranty moment and banishes the h to his country home, after she tells him she loves him.
The h is now fretting and moping and then the cousin OW shows up with the H. The cousin OW explains that her father was abusive and shot himself after the H and his father intervened. Then she sorta apologizes for messing things up with the h and H.
The OW knew the h was listening when she made her big play after the first wedding reception, then she deliberately overdosed on their wedding night to pull the H away.
The OW claims she was not in love with the H, he was just her only support. I totally did not believe her sorry, tarty hiney, but supposedly she had therapy and the h is all about being understanding and kind.
The H then makes his apologies and explanations to the h in a pretty good speech. I really liked the part where he claims it was very hard to brave when the mother of his child called him an irresponsible toad who had wrecked her life and then looked suicidal about the whole situation.
But the H admits he was determined to persevere and prove that they could be happy together and he confesses he loves the h for the big HEA. We get a little epilogue where the H and h have little boy.
Unfortunately the ex almost fiance wasn't hit by a train, cause he does the baptism, and the cousin OW is now the h's BFF and married and pregnant as we call in a day on another whacktasticly dramatic HPlandia outing with a very typical LG HEA.
So be warned before reading this, this couple fights and argues and frequently try to verbally one up each other. While the h is no slouch in the angry Italian shouting drama, the H is a very typical arrogant LG H and usually manages to twist the h's very valid feelings into shame for daring to be so above herself as to think she is an equal in the relationship.
This one starts with the h travelling to the H's now deceased uncle's former home. She has decided to ask the H if he will help her idiot brother and his equally idiot wife sort out their very messy financial situation.
It seems the h's brother knows gardening and got the H to loan him money for a garden center four years earlier. At the time, the h was 20 and was going to marry the 27 yr old H. They met by accident when they literally ran into each other and the H was fascinated by the naive, but voluptuous, prim small town h.
The H's courtship seriously irked his female cousin, who is a brilliant evil OW in the best classic style. There were months of catty remarks, criticisms of the h's looks, hair, weight and the woman deliberately encouraged the rest of the H's social circle to participate in the h's bullying.
The h was desperately in love and desperately trying to fit in. Her mother and her stepfather were the disapproving, stern ministerial types and they also DID NOT APPROVE. The H, in his typical ramming the barriers down fashion, threw away any attempts at diplomacy with them and pretty much arranged everything to his liking - which may or may not have been in line with what the h wanted.
The H resolved every one of the h's valid concerns by either dismissing them, or when she finally lost her temper and had a ranty moment, taking off on a jungle adventure for three weeks as a way of manipulating her emotionally by telling her he thought maybe he should call off the wedding.
So by the time the wedding day had actually arrived, the h was a bundle of nerves and sporting a rather mismatched, almost clownish look. She was so fraught she appeared intoxicated and then her world came crashing down at the wedding reception.
The OW cousin manipulated things to where the h overheard a conversation that seemed to indicate the OW and the H were lovers and that he was only marrying the h for a broodmare for his children. The blinders fell with a thud from the h's eyes and she was pretty irately hysterical on the wedding night.
The H had no patience for this behavior and took off, only to be photographed leaving the OW's flat at dawn and when the h saw the tabloids, she decided enough was enough a took off for a friend's house.
The H showed up at the h's stepfather's home and he phoned the police, inciting more of a tabloid frenzy. The friend the h was staying with spilled all the beans about the slime swiller cousin OW and in a well deserved stroke of LG justice, the OW cousin was vilified in the tabloid press.
The h never intended any of this regarding the OW to get out, but she also wasn't too unhappy about it, the OW cousin had done a really good job of wrecking the h's life.
Four years on the h needs the H's help and their first meeting winds up being another crashing moment as the H tackles the h in the dark of his late uncle's home. There is a bitter exchange about the failed marriage that ended in annulment and the H proves he can hold a mean grudge when he details the horrible treatment his beloved OW cousin got in the press.
The H also threatens the h's brother and his family with fraud charges and homelessness. The h probably wouldn't mind so much if it was just her brother or his pathetic limpet wife, but they also have two small children and the h feels that the H giving them so much money without proper supervision was largely to blame.
The H tries to deny his collusion in her brother's downfall, but the h doesn't want to hear it and she is tired and it is cold and snowing, so she goes to bed. Only to find that there is only one bed in the house and the H expects her to share it.
The h protests, she is almost engaged to another priggish minister type, but the H gets his way and of course the inevitable unicorn grooming license revocation ensues. The next morning the H claims her chastity removal was his revenge and the h is once again done with this unrepentant toad of an H.
But this is LG and her H's be cagey, the H shows up at the h's work and it is clear that he still has a yen for the h. He tries to proposition her, but the h is having none of that and her verbal H smackdown made me want to run and hide.
So the H has an overnight think about things and comes up with the plan that he will bail her brother and family out if the h will move in with him as his personal tart. The h almost passes out from the shock of the H's implications, but we can tell that this H is deeply hooked and doing everything to get the h back without losing the whip hand.
The thought of her niece's and nephew's sad little faces make the h agree to the H's proposition. The H is pleased as punch and can't understand why the h keeps making tarty harlot references. The h is also having bouts of nausea and a quick look at her day planner makes her think about emergency pregnancy tests.
The H and h have another fight about what a bovine snot snarfer the H's beloved OW cousin is and the H loses his temper again, so he has to turn things around and blame the h for being childish and vindictive.
Then the h makes the big surprise! discovery (not), that she is preggers. The H is delighted, but the h calls him a toad and tells him she won't marry him. The h still believes that the H wants a broodmare and while she may have to play his tart for hire, she has no intention of being trapped into a marriage where she will be second best and patronized for life.
Enter the smarmy, prig ex almost fiance. He guilts the h into marrying the H by pounding it into her head that she is selfish to want to actually have a happy, loving marriage and raise her child with two marginally compatible with each other parents.
The h decides that the baby should have his father and the ex almost fiancee fades away, hopefully to be hit by a train on his way home.
The H and h marry after the pathetic worm of a sister in law expresses shock over the h's scarlet dress and insists that the H would have married the OW cousin if he really loved her after he and the h separated.
The h has been speculating and thinking about the various tidbits she has heard about the H's family in the privacy of her mind, and she guesses it might be hard to legally marry a woman who is probably your biological half sister. (It appears the H's father liked to spread it around a bit and the OW's mother was said to be exceptionally seductive and lovely.)
But the h keeps her thoughts to herself and then the pathetic worm of sister in law is booted off, hopefully to a very low oxygen planet where she can just sit and vegetate.
The big wedding night surprise for the h is that the H has totally played her. The H's uncle left her a vase that was worth half a million pounds and the h could have sold it to bail out her brother. The H knew this and deliberately withheld the information - until one of his friend's mentions it in front of the h.
The H then decides that the best honeymoon ever will be to take the h to the secluded island house where his father took his lady buffet samples. The h, who was starting to have doubts about the H's complicity with his cousin OW, is now reminded that this H was raised in an environment where mistresses were kept openly and she can only wonder if the H is keeping his cousin OW in New York to be his main dish while she resides on the broodmare side.
The h and H have another argument about the H's lack of seduction attempts during their first engagement. The H unbends enough to explain that he had heard the h's stepfather berating her like she was some kind of fallen woman for coming home late from a date, so he daren't take things any further as her stepfather would have abused her more.
Then the H clues the h in that he never told her about the vase's value cause he wanted to get her into his clutches - astoundingly he also confesses he acted like a sewer swilling rat the morning after their first purple passion moment, and the h is so gobsmacked she falls easily in with his grand plan o'seduction.
The H and h finally seem to work their differences out and the honeymoon goes pretty swimmingly. Until they are going back to England and the h finds out that the cousin OW, who was supposed to be marrying someone else, has broken her engagement and the h decides to test the H.
This leads to the big revelation that the h believes the H is in love with the OW, but unable to do anything about it because the OW is his half sister. This stunning lack of trust seems to anger the H, just what kind of men does she think his family has anyway, and he has a huge ranty moment and banishes the h to his country home, after she tells him she loves him.
The h is now fretting and moping and then the cousin OW shows up with the H. The cousin OW explains that her father was abusive and shot himself after the H and his father intervened. Then she sorta apologizes for messing things up with the h and H.
The OW knew the h was listening when she made her big play after the first wedding reception, then she deliberately overdosed on their wedding night to pull the H away.
The OW claims she was not in love with the H, he was just her only support. I totally did not believe her sorry, tarty hiney, but supposedly she had therapy and the h is all about being understanding and kind.
The H then makes his apologies and explanations to the h in a pretty good speech. I really liked the part where he claims it was very hard to brave when the mother of his child called him an irresponsible toad who had wrecked her life and then looked suicidal about the whole situation.
But the H admits he was determined to persevere and prove that they could be happy together and he confesses he loves the h for the big HEA. We get a little epilogue where the H and h have little boy.
Unfortunately the ex almost fiance wasn't hit by a train, cause he does the baptism, and the cousin OW is now the h's BFF and married and pregnant as we call in a day on another whacktasticly dramatic HPlandia outing with a very typical LG HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2021
A second chance story between a bitter, resentful hero and a bitter, resentful heroine. What's good about the story is that they each had good reason to be bitter and resentful and the ledger is fairly balanced in bad behavior so that by the time they come to an understanding, I believed their happy ending.
Not that I particularly liked either character. The heroine was insecure, jumped to conclusions and had a vile temper. The hero was insecure in a different way - he craved love but also found it stifling. While the hero didn't jump to conclusions, he expected a lot of understanding from an 18 year-old girl when he married her the first time. (I call this Prince Charles syndrome whenever I see an older man judging a younger woman for her inexperience and neediness. He's older - he should know better). That the hero has a vile temper goes without saying as well.
A short plot recap - on the day of her wedding, the heroine thinks the hero is really in love with his cousin (she actually thinks this until the last pages of the book). On their wedding night, when she tries to confront him about a conversation she overheard, she loses her temper and is hysterical. Hero doesn't want to deal with her histrionics and leaves when he gets a phone call from his cousin. He stays with the cousin all night. The heroine goes to her friend (who sells the story to the tabloids). The heroine's stepfather won't let the hero see the heroine. She files for divorce and he makes sure the world knows it's an annulment.
This tit for tat dynamic continues when they meet again after 4 years apart. The hero's uncle has left her a vase in his will. Hero is in the house when she arrives in the middle of a snowstorm. They share a bed. Hero takes her virginity and all is well until the next morning when the hero claims he has now gotten his revenge.
Heroine is devastated - knows she can't marry her pastor fiance and has further worry about her brother who can't pay back a loan from the hero.
*Luckily, the hero has been thinking of a way to get heroine back in bed - he'll pay off the brother's debts if she'll be his mistress.
*Then she finds she's pregnant and the cousin is going to marry a Brazilian businessman.
*Then they marry and have a honeymoon.
*On the way home, the heroine sees the cousin has broken off her engagement.
*The hero banishes her to their country manor.
The cousin shows up to explain what's really going on.
For each * - there was a huge argument and horrible things were said on each side. Tit for Tat. Each argument and incident moves them closer to understanding the other - so it's productive communication. Some readers might not like that much conflict, but I didn't find it repetitious - even though I wished the heroine would grow up a bit faster. :)
Not that I particularly liked either character. The heroine was insecure, jumped to conclusions and had a vile temper. The hero was insecure in a different way - he craved love but also found it stifling. While the hero didn't jump to conclusions, he expected a lot of understanding from an 18 year-old girl when he married her the first time. (I call this Prince Charles syndrome whenever I see an older man judging a younger woman for her inexperience and neediness. He's older - he should know better). That the hero has a vile temper goes without saying as well.
A short plot recap - on the day of her wedding, the heroine thinks the hero is really in love with his cousin (she actually thinks this until the last pages of the book). On their wedding night, when she tries to confront him about a conversation she overheard, she loses her temper and is hysterical. Hero doesn't want to deal with her histrionics and leaves when he gets a phone call from his cousin. He stays with the cousin all night. The heroine goes to her friend (who sells the story to the tabloids). The heroine's stepfather won't let the hero see the heroine. She files for divorce and he makes sure the world knows it's an annulment.
This tit for tat dynamic continues when they meet again after 4 years apart. The hero's uncle has left her a vase in his will. Hero is in the house when she arrives in the middle of a snowstorm. They share a bed. Hero takes her virginity and all is well until the next morning when the hero claims he has now gotten his revenge.
Heroine is devastated - knows she can't marry her pastor fiance and has further worry about her brother who can't pay back a loan from the hero.
*Luckily, the hero has been thinking of a way to get heroine back in bed - he'll pay off the brother's debts if she'll be his mistress.
*Then she finds she's pregnant and the cousin is going to marry a Brazilian businessman.
*Then they marry and have a honeymoon.
*On the way home, the heroine sees the cousin has broken off her engagement.
*The hero banishes her to their country manor.
The cousin shows up to explain what's really going on.
For each * - there was a huge argument and horrible things were said on each side. Tit for Tat. Each argument and incident moves them closer to understanding the other - so it's productive communication. Some readers might not like that much conflict, but I didn't find it repetitious - even though I wished the heroine would grow up a bit faster. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2016
A bunch of stupid miscommunications. I'm not fond of stories where the other woman causes problems and the hero blames the heroine for not being more sympathetic when he goes off to spend his wedding night helping the other woman instead of sticking around and finding out why the heroine is so upset on their wedding day.
October 24, 2012
3.5 Stars
I thought this one would be a lot worse than it was. It was pretty much an angstfest with the H putting the hot, better-than-the-her, OW/cousin before h. There was lots of chasing (by the H), gut wrenching slams after tender moments, overheard conversation damning the H, h's nose being rubbed into the H&OW's relationship, which took front seat to the the H&h's...all that heart wrenching stuff. It was great! ;D
There was some stuff that just didn't work for me, though, that I'll put here in the little hidden spoiler drawer. Don't peak. It'll ruin the whole tone of the book. ;D
I can pretty much recommend this book to anyone who loves these angsty, angry, OW Harleys.
I thought this one would be a lot worse than it was. It was pretty much an angstfest with the H putting the hot, better-than-the-her, OW/cousin before h. There was lots of chasing (by the H), gut wrenching slams after tender moments, overheard conversation damning the H, h's nose being rubbed into the H&OW's relationship, which took front seat to the the H&h's...all that heart wrenching stuff. It was great! ;D
There was some stuff that just didn't work for me, though, that I'll put here in the little hidden spoiler drawer. Don't peak. It'll ruin the whole tone of the book. ;D
I can pretty much recommend this book to anyone who loves these angsty, angry, OW Harleys.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2022
Omg I have never read this story before! I read a novel about a guy named Sholto, gag me, and he was a terrible hero too and I hated this guy. But I truly believed, or wanted to believe, he loved her. Because I am a 'hopeful romantic' which SUCKS!!! I hated his name and I hated what he did to her a year ago. I liked that she sent to him and didn't tell him the truth. I thought he was a pig. But he grew on me. I don't really know if he was celibate but. I did love how much he wanted her. Even though he had a Russian model in the wings. The baby was cute and I am glad they came together despite his ugly past. I really hope he never slept with anyone else while they were apart. I am such a freak. Lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2012
This book is Cluster*uck 101.
Molly and Sholto are the main characters. Molly occasionally shows a glimpse that she possibly has a backbone, but she surrounds herself with people that encourage her to rip it out and bury it in the very center of the earth.
Previously she'd been a rather weak girl but completely out of her depth with her fiance. His friends and family treated her like crap and did a random emotional abuse to her that if she'd had a backbone in the first place it would have shown through, but since she didn't she caved under constant pressure and sly little digs. Molly didn't think she was beautiful, she was a little overweight, didn't follow fashion, and had mouse-brown hair. Constant digs pretending to be helpful advice of diet ideas, personal trainers, stylists and the like had her turning into a completely different person by the time she was married.
BUT UNDERSTANDABLY...on her wedding day she accidentally overhears her new husband and his cousin, who was a complete w*itch to the heroine, where the cousin is going off about her love for him and how they can't be together and he confesses he loves her too. The heroine goes crazy when he tries to go to the bedroom that night but he gets a phone call and leaves his hysterical wife. The next morning he's photographed leaving his cousin's hotel room after an all nighter with her.
Marriage annulment.
Hurrah!
So a few years later they meet up again when a mutual person for them dies. He has revenge sex with her because he wants the wedding night SHE denied him, never mind the fact that he wouldn't have gotten said wedding night anyway because he rushed off to be with his cousin when she called. The next morning he treated her like crap, and weeks later they meet up again because of her dread weak *it's a family trait* brother who needs help and the "hero" is the only one that can do it.
He agrees to help only if she agrees to be his mistress for a while, and she does.
He's pissed if she's upset about her situation, he treats her like crap but pretends to not, she then thinks he's not treating her like crap and then he is.
And she winds up pregnant. She does NOT want to marry him, and tells him so before he can ask. She goes and tells her family who tells her ex/pastor or whatever he was. He convinces her that she's selfish and horrible for wanting love for herself and what have you so the heroine tucks her tail between her legs and crawls back to the hero and tells him she will marry him. And he makes her beg, which she does.
So pretty much the entire book is the heroine being weak willed enough to not stand by her realistic problems and then taking the blame for the hero's problems also.
One classic example, the hero goes off on the heroine about making sure he has sex with her so there will be no annulment because he doesn't want that in the press again. She goes off about what they posted about her, he goes off about how much worse it was for him. Then he tells her that it was all her fault, and he was perfectly innocent, oh, and if she'd loved him, she would have waiting for him to come home in the morning *on their wedding night* when he rushed off without explaining to another woman. She swings back with maybe if he'd ever told her he felt even an ounce of love for her, she would have. He immediately comes back with, but I don't know anything about love *despite the fact that he LOVED his cousin and told her all the time. And suddenly it's all the heroine's fault again.
The book was one big giant contradiction. At one point the hero tells her when they were getting married the first time, he wanted to tell her they should put off getting married for a while, but was too afraid she'd take it as rejection and leave him entirely. *because of the way she was acting* BUT from the heroine's POV at one point, right before their wedding, the hero told her to shape up of the wedding was off just before he took off to go hike a mountain alone somewhere. That's not someone who's too afraid the heroine will just leave him if he suggests waiting to get married. He outright told her if she didn't shape up the way he wanted her to, he was ditching her. But of course we must go with the thought that the hero was this great and wonderful guy the whole time and the heroine was the one that was psycho and caused all the problems.
The book has some good points, but it's so frustrating and plot confusing that it's really not that good.
Molly and Sholto are the main characters. Molly occasionally shows a glimpse that she possibly has a backbone, but she surrounds herself with people that encourage her to rip it out and bury it in the very center of the earth.
Previously she'd been a rather weak girl but completely out of her depth with her fiance. His friends and family treated her like crap and did a random emotional abuse to her that if she'd had a backbone in the first place it would have shown through, but since she didn't she caved under constant pressure and sly little digs. Molly didn't think she was beautiful, she was a little overweight, didn't follow fashion, and had mouse-brown hair. Constant digs pretending to be helpful advice of diet ideas, personal trainers, stylists and the like had her turning into a completely different person by the time she was married.
BUT UNDERSTANDABLY...on her wedding day she accidentally overhears her new husband and his cousin, who was a complete w*itch to the heroine, where the cousin is going off about her love for him and how they can't be together and he confesses he loves her too. The heroine goes crazy when he tries to go to the bedroom that night but he gets a phone call and leaves his hysterical wife. The next morning he's photographed leaving his cousin's hotel room after an all nighter with her.
Marriage annulment.
Hurrah!
So a few years later they meet up again when a mutual person for them dies. He has revenge sex with her because he wants the wedding night SHE denied him, never mind the fact that he wouldn't have gotten said wedding night anyway because he rushed off to be with his cousin when she called. The next morning he treated her like crap, and weeks later they meet up again because of her dread weak *it's a family trait* brother who needs help and the "hero" is the only one that can do it.
He agrees to help only if she agrees to be his mistress for a while, and she does.
He's pissed if she's upset about her situation, he treats her like crap but pretends to not, she then thinks he's not treating her like crap and then he is.
And she winds up pregnant. She does NOT want to marry him, and tells him so before he can ask. She goes and tells her family who tells her ex/pastor or whatever he was. He convinces her that she's selfish and horrible for wanting love for herself and what have you so the heroine tucks her tail between her legs and crawls back to the hero and tells him she will marry him. And he makes her beg, which she does.
So pretty much the entire book is the heroine being weak willed enough to not stand by her realistic problems and then taking the blame for the hero's problems also.
One classic example, the hero goes off on the heroine about making sure he has sex with her so there will be no annulment because he doesn't want that in the press again. She goes off about what they posted about her, he goes off about how much worse it was for him. Then he tells her that it was all her fault, and he was perfectly innocent, oh, and if she'd loved him, she would have waiting for him to come home in the morning *on their wedding night* when he rushed off without explaining to another woman. She swings back with maybe if he'd ever told her he felt even an ounce of love for her, she would have. He immediately comes back with, but I don't know anything about love *despite the fact that he LOVED his cousin and told her all the time. And suddenly it's all the heroine's fault again.
The book was one big giant contradiction. At one point the hero tells her when they were getting married the first time, he wanted to tell her they should put off getting married for a while, but was too afraid she'd take it as rejection and leave him entirely. *because of the way she was acting* BUT from the heroine's POV at one point, right before their wedding, the hero told her to shape up of the wedding was off just before he took off to go hike a mountain alone somewhere. That's not someone who's too afraid the heroine will just leave him if he suggests waiting to get married. He outright told her if she didn't shape up the way he wanted her to, he was ditching her. But of course we must go with the thought that the hero was this great and wonderful guy the whole time and the heroine was the one that was psycho and caused all the problems.
The book has some good points, but it's so frustrating and plot confusing that it's really not that good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2022
Hmm. I do not like it when the H defends the OW without explanation. And then makes the h feel guilty for being concerned…. And I really hate it when the h takes on all the blame like a doormat…. And even worse when the OW who caused all the problems is redeemed and doesn’t face any consequences. Not only that but she becomes besties with the h and maintains her sainthood in the eyes of the H. That’s super annoying. 😐
July 23, 2013
Could have been better. Okay read. Not too memorable though.
Italian tycoon ditches brand-new bride!
On their wedding day, Molly and Sholto had separated. The split made newspaper headlines, though no one ever guessed why their marriage wasn't consummated.
Molly had vowed that no pressure or price would persuade her to share Sholto's bed, but she knew her brother owed him a lot of money…. Sholto struck a deal: he would settle the debt if Molly moved in with him—and he would get to enjoy his wedding night after all.
Then Molly found herself with a new dilemma: she was Sholto's ex-wife and mistress…and soon she would be the mother of his child
Italian tycoon ditches brand-new bride!
On their wedding day, Molly and Sholto had separated. The split made newspaper headlines, though no one ever guessed why their marriage wasn't consummated.
Molly had vowed that no pressure or price would persuade her to share Sholto's bed, but she knew her brother owed him a lot of money…. Sholto struck a deal: he would settle the debt if Molly moved in with him—and he would get to enjoy his wedding night after all.
Then Molly found herself with a new dilemma: she was Sholto's ex-wife and mistress…and soon she would be the mother of his child
May 17, 2015
From 1 to 10: 8.7 (My personal rating scale) Another book to re-read ñ_ñ
November 19, 2025
Entertaining, classic, HP romance from 1997
Romance tropes contained in this novel include:
Billionaire romance
Enemies to lovers
Reunion romance
Naive virgin FMC
Unplanned pregnancy "Blackmailed" into bed
Evil Other Woman
Molly and Sholto first met when she was 20 and he was 27. They were opposites in personality and from completely different worlds. She had been raised by an emotionally abusive, religiously conservative, provincial stepfather in a small British village, and he was raised by wealthy, sophisticated, socially prominent parents in an urban, jet-setting lifestyle. In a whirlwind courtship, Sholto swept Molly into an immediate engagement, but a traumatic event on their wedding night destroyed their relationship, and their unconsummated marriage was annulled. It has been four years since they have seen each other when Molly runs into Sholto at the home of his uncle, soon after the uncle has died.
This is a classic, HP-style, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is virtually always the case when LG employs this trope that the MMC wrongly assumes that the FMC is an unprincipled person. In a rare reversal of these roles, in this novel, it is the FMC, Molly, who has a very wrong impression of Sholto's ethics, because she is maliciously encouraged in that belief by a jealous, manipulative OW.
This is a very intense, somewhat melodramatic romance from early in LG's career. Back then, her MMCs were reliably Alpha and her sex scenes were intensely passionate and compelling, unlike some of her most recent novels.
I have read this book multiple times over the years, and it is reliably a 3.5-stars read for me, which I round up to 4 stars.
Romance tropes contained in this novel include:
Billionaire romance
Enemies to lovers
Reunion romance
Naive virgin FMC
Unplanned pregnancy "Blackmailed" into bed
Evil Other Woman
Molly and Sholto first met when she was 20 and he was 27. They were opposites in personality and from completely different worlds. She had been raised by an emotionally abusive, religiously conservative, provincial stepfather in a small British village, and he was raised by wealthy, sophisticated, socially prominent parents in an urban, jet-setting lifestyle. In a whirlwind courtship, Sholto swept Molly into an immediate engagement, but a traumatic event on their wedding night destroyed their relationship, and their unconsummated marriage was annulled. It has been four years since they have seen each other when Molly runs into Sholto at the home of his uncle, soon after the uncle has died.
This is a classic, HP-style, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is virtually always the case when LG employs this trope that the MMC wrongly assumes that the FMC is an unprincipled person. In a rare reversal of these roles, in this novel, it is the FMC, Molly, who has a very wrong impression of Sholto's ethics, because she is maliciously encouraged in that belief by a jealous, manipulative OW.
This is a very intense, somewhat melodramatic romance from early in LG's career. Back then, her MMCs were reliably Alpha and her sex scenes were intensely passionate and compelling, unlike some of her most recent novels.
I have read this book multiple times over the years, and it is reliably a 3.5-stars read for me, which I round up to 4 stars.
November 21, 2016
Annoying heroine, idiot hero, busybody friend, cruel, pompous stepfather, and a total lack of communication is what this story is made of.
Molly's jealousy and immaturity drove Sholto (awful many btw) away from her on their wedding night. His lack of communication about his relationship with his cousin Pandora made Molly walk out on their marriage on that same night.
Now years later they are thrown into each other's company for a night and given the opportunity to start all over again. But the past keeps rearing its ugly head and Molly's insecurities about Sholto's relationships with Pandora may very well end it all over again.
An ok story but Molly is too damned annoying and Sholto is as clueless as a man could be about Pandora. I almost feel that these two deserved the crap they created. I just didn't like them very much.
Molly's jealousy and immaturity drove Sholto (awful many btw) away from her on their wedding night. His lack of communication about his relationship with his cousin Pandora made Molly walk out on their marriage on that same night.
Now years later they are thrown into each other's company for a night and given the opportunity to start all over again. But the past keeps rearing its ugly head and Molly's insecurities about Sholto's relationships with Pandora may very well end it all over again.
An ok story but Molly is too damned annoying and Sholto is as clueless as a man could be about Pandora. I almost feel that these two deserved the crap they created. I just didn't like them very much.
February 26, 2025
H was not besotted enough!
December 5, 2011
This one started out really well and I thought I might end up giving it 5 stars. It was a fairly typical Lynne Graham story, and I almost always prefer reunion stories from her so that you have the history of loving each other to balance the cruelty/insults in the present and make the HEA more believable. The only part I didn't like was just prior to the end, their last real fight. I was pissed at the hero for that one -- Sholto did kind of make up for his reaction to that last fight at their next meeting by showing remorse over it, but I was mad at him for his prior reaction and thought he was being self-righteous without justification.
Anyway, overall this was a good one by Lynne Graham, more like 4.5 stars.
Anyway, overall this was a good one by Lynne Graham, more like 4.5 stars.
May 18, 2021
The kinky side of LG. Miscommunication and misunderstanding at their best. Molly runs immediately after her marriage because she heard her husband’s cousin declare her love for him, and because he spent the night with her. Yuk. Superyuk. Years later they meet again, have a ons and she’s pregnant. They marry but misunderstandings are still there to threaten their love. What I didn’t like: the hero’s name, Sholto is supposed to be Italian, but I’m Italian and I can assure that there is not such a name in all my country. I just couldn’t read a book with a hero called Sholto, I had to rename him in my head with a real Italian name. Second thing I didn’t like: the cousin factor... I can’t believe that the heroine is jealous of her husband’s cousin and she eventually thinks that they are half siblings. This is just too creepy even for me... ok I know that these kind of things can happen but my god can’t you think that he is only fond of a relative and not sexually attracted?? It’s too kinky. When she suggested that they could be half siblings and have a sexual affair I felt sick for him... third thing, he is older and more experienced than her so he should have protected her and explained at least some of those odd behaviors that his cousin was having, since he married the heroine. It is called trust. but no, he only asked her to trust him blindly and defended his cousin without giving any explanation. He should be clever, I found him dumb and weak. Anyway I enjoyed this book because it was an unusual plot.
August 10, 2025
Mistress and Mother by Lynne Graham delivers a potent mix of passion, misunderstandings, and the kind of combustible push-and-pull dynamic that is a hallmark of her older titles. Molly Bannister’s life takes a sharp turn when, after a whirlwind courtship and a wedding that ends before the night is even over, she walks away from her new husband, Italian tycoon Sholto Cristaldi.
The split makes headlines, but no one knows the truth behind their unconsummated marriage. Four years later, circumstances, namely her brother’s debt, forces Molly back into Sholto’s orbit, this time under his terms: move in with him as his mistress, and he will settle what is owed.
Sholto is ruthless hero personified; confident to the point of arrogance, certain of his own version of events, and entirely too used to getting his way. At thirty-one, he is a man accustomed to control, yet when it comes to Molly, that composure often slips, revealing a possessive, an almost volatile streak. Molly, at twenty-four, is a mix of innocence, stubbornness, and vulnerability. Her upbringing under the strict rules of her puritanical stepfather leaves her ill-equipped for the glamorous, high-pressure world Sholto inhabits, and her inexperience plays a huge role in their earlier estrangement.
The tension between them is driven by their shared past and the unresolved questions that still linger. Sholto believes he has been wronged and wields guilt like a weapon, while Molly struggles with her own insecurities and the hurt from never having felt truly loved or wanted by him. Her pregnancy only raises the stakes, forcing them to confront their history and decide whether they can build something real, or if old wounds will keep them apart.
The first half of the book is fast-paced and addictive, with sharp exchanges, sizzling chemistry, and the thrill of watching two people who cannot seem to stay away from each other despite years of hurt. However, the second half tested my patience, as Sholto continually found ways to make Molly feel guilty without offering the kind of reassurance and emotional safety she needed. His inability or unwillingness to understand her point of view was frustrating, even as his attraction and desire for her were never in doubt.
What I enjoyed most was the way Graham portrayed Sholto’s lack of control around Molly. For all his arrogance, he was clearly besotted, and those moments where his composure cracked were highly satisfying. Still, I would have loved to see Molly push back more, especially given how much of their earlier issues stemmed from a lack of communication and Sholto was as much to blame as she was in the demise of their marriage.
Recommended for: readers who enjoy classic Harlequin Presents drama with a ruthless hero, a heroine who pushes back the second time around, and plenty of emotional fireworks.
Final Verdict: Passionate and dramatic, Mistress and Mother is a fiery reunion romance that keeps you turning the pages, even when the hero makes you want to throttle him.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
The split makes headlines, but no one knows the truth behind their unconsummated marriage. Four years later, circumstances, namely her brother’s debt, forces Molly back into Sholto’s orbit, this time under his terms: move in with him as his mistress, and he will settle what is owed.
Sholto is ruthless hero personified; confident to the point of arrogance, certain of his own version of events, and entirely too used to getting his way. At thirty-one, he is a man accustomed to control, yet when it comes to Molly, that composure often slips, revealing a possessive, an almost volatile streak. Molly, at twenty-four, is a mix of innocence, stubbornness, and vulnerability. Her upbringing under the strict rules of her puritanical stepfather leaves her ill-equipped for the glamorous, high-pressure world Sholto inhabits, and her inexperience plays a huge role in their earlier estrangement.
The tension between them is driven by their shared past and the unresolved questions that still linger. Sholto believes he has been wronged and wields guilt like a weapon, while Molly struggles with her own insecurities and the hurt from never having felt truly loved or wanted by him. Her pregnancy only raises the stakes, forcing them to confront their history and decide whether they can build something real, or if old wounds will keep them apart.
The first half of the book is fast-paced and addictive, with sharp exchanges, sizzling chemistry, and the thrill of watching two people who cannot seem to stay away from each other despite years of hurt. However, the second half tested my patience, as Sholto continually found ways to make Molly feel guilty without offering the kind of reassurance and emotional safety she needed. His inability or unwillingness to understand her point of view was frustrating, even as his attraction and desire for her were never in doubt.
What I enjoyed most was the way Graham portrayed Sholto’s lack of control around Molly. For all his arrogance, he was clearly besotted, and those moments where his composure cracked were highly satisfying. Still, I would have loved to see Molly push back more, especially given how much of their earlier issues stemmed from a lack of communication and Sholto was as much to blame as she was in the demise of their marriage.
Recommended for: readers who enjoy classic Harlequin Presents drama with a ruthless hero, a heroine who pushes back the second time around, and plenty of emotional fireworks.
Final Verdict: Passionate and dramatic, Mistress and Mother is a fiery reunion romance that keeps you turning the pages, even when the hero makes you want to throttle him.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
January 20, 2021
"Έρωτας αλά ιταλικά" - Lynne Graham, Σειρά Χρυσά, νούμερο 879,
έτος έκδοσης στην Ελλάδα: 1998
ΜΟΥ ΑΡΕΣΕ ΠΟΛΥ Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΑΥΤΉ!!!
έτος έκδοσης στην Ελλάδα: 1998
ΜΟΥ ΑΡΕΣΕ ΠΟΛΥ Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΑΥΤΉ!!!
August 14, 2016
4 Stars! ~ Molly had been devastated when she discovered on her wedding day that her husband was in love with another woman and that he’d married her only for the babies she could give him. So before the marriage could be consummated she left him, and the next morning the papers produced a photo of him leaving his lovers apartment that very morning. It’s now four years since the annulment, and Molly finds herself stranded by a winter storm alone with her ex-husband. And Sholto wants his wedding night. And when the passion is sated, Sholto makes it very clear that he was only exacting revenge for her leaving him. Weeks later Sholto blackmails Molly into living with him, in exchange he’ll forgive the debts her brother owes him; should she refuse her brother and his family will be bankrupt.
Ms. Graham always writes such intensely emotional stories. Sholto is a strong, alpha hero that tries very hard to hide his vulnerabilities. And he has them, esp. where Molly is concerned. Ms. Graham through various flashbacks artfully drew the picture of Sholto’s courtship of Molly, their engagement and the horrible wedding night that ended their marriage. Molly’s grown up a lot since then, and sees her own actions and those of Sholto in a different light. This is one that holds you from the first sentence to that last
Ms. Graham always writes such intensely emotional stories. Sholto is a strong, alpha hero that tries very hard to hide his vulnerabilities. And he has them, esp. where Molly is concerned. Ms. Graham through various flashbacks artfully drew the picture of Sholto’s courtship of Molly, their engagement and the horrible wedding night that ended their marriage. Molly’s grown up a lot since then, and sees her own actions and those of Sholto in a different light. This is one that holds you from the first sentence to that last
October 26, 2019
Octubre fue un mes de relecturas, esta vez con una versión .epub bastante mala que no sé dónde encontré, donde por momentos Sholto, el protagonista, se llamaba "Soltó" (?), y había montones de errores de gramática y ortografía. Pero eso por ser pobre, no es culpa de Lynne ^^''.
Por un malentendido, Molly y Sholto se separan hasta que una noche fría de invierno vuelven a verse y él chantajea a la pobrecita para volver a estar juntos. No es de sus mejores novelas y, aun así, es mucho más recordable que las últimas que salieron de esta autora, bastante mediocres a mi parecer.
Por un malentendido, Molly y Sholto se separan hasta que una noche fría de invierno vuelven a verse y él chantajea a la pobrecita para volver a estar juntos. No es de sus mejores novelas y, aun así, es mucho más recordable que las últimas que salieron de esta autora, bastante mediocres a mi parecer.
August 4, 2020
So much bickering. So many tantrums. So many misunderstandings. So much pride.
She was immature and annoying. He was an a**... older than her yet also immature.
This is one of those stories where the H gives higher priority to another woman than his fiancée/wife.
I can’t believe the OW didn’t even have to admit all her former sins in front of the H. The h deserved to have the real truth come out between the three of them. So stupid.
I’m sorry she didn’t grow up a bit and find someone else because he frequently treated her like crap.
She was immature and annoying. He was an a**... older than her yet also immature.
This is one of those stories where the H gives higher priority to another woman than his fiancée/wife.
I can’t believe the OW didn’t even have to admit all her former sins in front of the H. The h deserved to have the real truth come out between the three of them. So stupid.
I’m sorry she didn’t grow up a bit and find someone else because he frequently treated her like crap.
October 29, 2015
Sholto humiliated Molly from the beginning of the book right to the very end. LG failed to convey his alleged love for Molly, I wasn't convinced. Molly ended up being a doormat, when she was absolutely justified in everything she did.
I would of killed Sholto and the stupid ending with that asp Pandora...please. Molly was a third wheel in this book.
I would of killed Sholto and the stupid ending with that asp Pandora...please. Molly was a third wheel in this book.
February 20, 2021
I struggled through finishing this book. The only reason I read the whole way through was that I don’t want any DNF. And it drives me insane to keep wondering what happened next.
December 1, 2024
Intense - loads of emotions
Lots of emotions flying around in this book both hidden and unhidden. An older man with experience and an young innocent fell in love = A recipe for disaster. Molly thinks she is older and wiser this time around but she still has a hard time saying what she means. Sholto being older and wiser really should have talked to her better and helped her out, but being a guy just feels insulted. They have amazing chemistry but really needed to talk honestly and listen. There is of course that other woman, meddling family, and a surprise baby to work out too. A good read from 1997.
Lots of emotions flying around in this book both hidden and unhidden. An older man with experience and an young innocent fell in love = A recipe for disaster. Molly thinks she is older and wiser this time around but she still has a hard time saying what she means. Sholto being older and wiser really should have talked to her better and helped her out, but being a guy just feels insulted. They have amazing chemistry but really needed to talk honestly and listen. There is of course that other woman, meddling family, and a surprise baby to work out too. A good read from 1997.
June 27, 2024
worth a second read
Anytime I read a book more than once, it has to be good. Especially the older Harlequins.
This is a second chance romance where communication would have cleared everything but then again that would mean the would not exist.
Lynne Graham is a great author and I have read many of her books.
Anytime I read a book more than once, it has to be good. Especially the older Harlequins.
This is a second chance romance where communication would have cleared everything but then again that would mean the would not exist.
Lynne Graham is a great author and I have read many of her books.
July 5, 2025
2.5
Malentendidos y mala comunicación. La prota infumable e inmadura. Y el prota con una actitud nefasta y horrorosa 😭
Malentendidos y mala comunicación. La prota infumable e inmadura. Y el prota con una actitud nefasta y horrorosa 😭
February 18, 2019
Had 40% of the bickering and mental bitterness been eliminated, this would have been a 5 star story. Both characters had reasons for their responses. The H was emotionally repressed and totally unable to communicate emotions effectively. He trusted his cousin and not the h and he would withdraw from emotional confrontation instead of clarifying the situation. The h was raised in a totally repressive environment and her parents were dictatorial and used the father's position and beliefs as weapons for control. They did eventually communicate, decrease the angst and walk happily into the future.
This was a good storyline and I liked the way the characters were developed. My only complaint is the amount of bickering-clarify or separate!
This was a good storyline and I liked the way the characters were developed. My only complaint is the amount of bickering-clarify or separate!
September 9, 2016
This was a passion filled book. Molly went from loving Sholto, to hating him within seconds. I thought she was immature, and threw tantrums. I thought Sholto worked very hard at winning back Molly who was once his wife. He may have gone about it in a twisted way, but you could tell he really cared for Molly. There was a lot of hurt, and misunderstanding that had build up over the years. Once they talked, and got everything out, the two found happiness. I have to say Sholto had a lot of patients. I'm not sure I could have put up with Molly and her outburs as long as he did. I guess you put up with a lot, when you love that person.
I'm glad the two finally got a HEA.
I'm glad the two finally got a HEA.
December 16, 2018
So this heroine is in the dark the entire book and the hero gets upset and reacts poorly in every confrontation with her. Sorry this isn't very romantic. The 'secret' of the other woman was NOT something that needed to be hidden and sorta makes the hero and the other women really insensitive toward the heroine, who just wanted to know what was going on! And that is treated like a crime. "I love you, hero""no you don't"...k chill douchebag. Skip mostly cause the title is scary and misleading.
February 8, 2016
I just simply adore when the H blackmails the estranged wife/ex wife back into his life. This book had all the ingredients of what it takes to have an entire serving of romance and misunderstanding of unrequited love by our couple. Surprisingly the the OW was a nice twist of jealousy and possession of losing a friendship. Great read
September 6, 2024
This book has one of those stories where the H and h have a whirlwind romance, get married quickly, a huge misunderstanding separates them, they're apart for years, then get back together an apparent business deal/sacrifice (in this case, his money and connections can save her brother and his wife and children from bankruptcy, on condition that she live with him) and all the usual stuff that goes with this, but there was a bit more to it than that.
Though the reason they split up was bordering on the ridiculous (she thinks he's in love with his gorgeous first cousin who might possibly be his half-sister), this story takes more serious turn when it shows how neglectful, abusive and otherwise unhappy childhoods can have a profound effect on a person and damage future relationships. Though that doesn't excuse entirely either the H or h (both of whom made big errors in judgment and foolish decisions, also said and did things they never should have, to the point where you don't know who deserved the bigger kick in the butt), it makes you understand more why they behaved like they did.
The h had a cold, judgmental, stepfather who thought himself morally superior to ordinary mortals and never ceased to remind those closest to him what "sinners" they were, morally as well as intellectually incompetent. This resulted in both the h being insecure and full of self-doubt, and guilty about her desire for the H, (with a stepfather ready to label her a tramp) while her brother remained immature and irresponsible, feeling like the failure his stepfather considered him to be.
As for the H, he was raised by a mother who was the inspiration for the saying "stone-cold bitch" and considered any show of affection from her son as weakness as well as annoying. His father paid more attention to his mistresses than to him, and he learned to keep his feelings and emotions to himself, as if showing how he really felt wasn't acceptable.
All of this affected so much that happened between the H and h, but what did the most damage was how little they really knew each other, because they never had any serious talks while they were engaged, everything was rushed, his wealthy background compared to her humble one made the h feel even more insecure and her attempts to make up for that had the opposite effect, as did his when he tried to do what he thought was right. So much could have been avoided if they'd really opened up and been their true selves.
Even the OW (the H's cousin) had an abusive history that makes you sorry for her, enough to forget the trouble she caused and root for her to have a HEA of her own.
The OM (no abuse there, enough is enough) was the kind I like, a nice guy without being a simp and he gave the h good advice without coming across as patronizing, another OM trait I can't stand. I'm glad he gets a HEA of his own.
Worth reading, because it makes you think.
Though the reason they split up was bordering on the ridiculous (she thinks he's in love with his gorgeous first cousin who might possibly be his half-sister), this story takes more serious turn when it shows how neglectful, abusive and otherwise unhappy childhoods can have a profound effect on a person and damage future relationships. Though that doesn't excuse entirely either the H or h (both of whom made big errors in judgment and foolish decisions, also said and did things they never should have, to the point where you don't know who deserved the bigger kick in the butt), it makes you understand more why they behaved like they did.
The h had a cold, judgmental, stepfather who thought himself morally superior to ordinary mortals and never ceased to remind those closest to him what "sinners" they were, morally as well as intellectually incompetent. This resulted in both the h being insecure and full of self-doubt, and guilty about her desire for the H, (with a stepfather ready to label her a tramp) while her brother remained immature and irresponsible, feeling like the failure his stepfather considered him to be.
As for the H, he was raised by a mother who was the inspiration for the saying "stone-cold bitch" and considered any show of affection from her son as weakness as well as annoying. His father paid more attention to his mistresses than to him, and he learned to keep his feelings and emotions to himself, as if showing how he really felt wasn't acceptable.
All of this affected so much that happened between the H and h, but what did the most damage was how little they really knew each other, because they never had any serious talks while they were engaged, everything was rushed, his wealthy background compared to her humble one made the h feel even more insecure and her attempts to make up for that had the opposite effect, as did his when he tried to do what he thought was right. So much could have been avoided if they'd really opened up and been their true selves.
Even the OW (the H's cousin) had an abusive history that makes you sorry for her, enough to forget the trouble she caused and root for her to have a HEA of her own.
The OM (no abuse there, enough is enough) was the kind I like, a nice guy without being a simp and he gave the h good advice without coming across as patronizing, another OM trait I can't stand. I'm glad he gets a HEA of his own.
Worth reading, because it makes you think.
July 4, 2022
Don't we all love a good trashy read where a huge part of the romance is just "female lead stops resisting the abuse and gives in to the manipulative, gaslighting and demanding male leads wishes"
Also that explanation for the misunderstanding was so dumb and unrealistic, it ended up ridiculing the whole angst for me. Years of harm and bullying don't go away with a simple "sorry I was in a bad place"
Adding to that, the writing was a catastrophe. Overly descriptive ("For a count of ten paralyzed seconds, Molly gaped at him with startled green eyes and parted lips. “You’re not serious,” she said when she could finally unpeel her tongue from the roof of her mouth.") or just plain...wrong ("Good heavens!’ the older man ejaculated in complete amazement") at times and the plot made no sense. Characters were discarded as the plot required, or why else would the traitorous friend or the stepfather that had oh so much influence over the fl get absolutely no appearances?
There were a few scenes which I really liked, though.
F.e.:
Sally’s sister, Fiona, wandered in, trailing a torn carrier bag stuffed with soft toys in her wake. ‘I’m packing,’ she announced with all the importance of a four-year-old seeking praise for being helpful. Lena took one look at her younger daughter’s innocent face and went off into gasping, shuddering sobs of misery, burying her face in her arms over the table. In response, Fiona burst into frightened tears and the toddler in the play-pen behind the door set up a piercing howl in sympathy.
Explanation: Lenas daughters, Fiona and Sally, want to help their mum as their family is going through serious financial trouble.
Also that explanation for the misunderstanding was so dumb and unrealistic, it ended up ridiculing the whole angst for me. Years of harm and bullying don't go away with a simple "sorry I was in a bad place"
Adding to that, the writing was a catastrophe. Overly descriptive ("For a count of ten paralyzed seconds, Molly gaped at him with startled green eyes and parted lips. “You’re not serious,” she said when she could finally unpeel her tongue from the roof of her mouth.") or just plain...wrong ("Good heavens!’ the older man ejaculated in complete amazement") at times and the plot made no sense. Characters were discarded as the plot required, or why else would the traitorous friend or the stepfather that had oh so much influence over the fl get absolutely no appearances?
There were a few scenes which I really liked, though.
F.e.:
Sally’s sister, Fiona, wandered in, trailing a torn carrier bag stuffed with soft toys in her wake. ‘I’m packing,’ she announced with all the importance of a four-year-old seeking praise for being helpful. Lena took one look at her younger daughter’s innocent face and went off into gasping, shuddering sobs of misery, burying her face in her arms over the table. In response, Fiona burst into frightened tears and the toddler in the play-pen behind the door set up a piercing howl in sympathy.
Explanation: Lenas daughters, Fiona and Sally, want to help their mum as their family is going through serious financial trouble.
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