Innocent Deception

by Rachel Lindsay

Sharon had had no ulterior motive when she took on the job of looking after Paul Sanderson's small daughter--but if he had any inkling who she was, he was certain to suspect her of one. For Sharon was a young, up-and-coming singer who was having to rest her voice for a few months, while Paul, as the founder-director of Pailings, the world-famous opera house, was the natural target for ambitious would-be opera stars who more than once had stopped at nothing to bring themselves to his notice. So she must be careful to keep her identity a secret. She must be even more careful not to fall in love with Paul--for how could she compete with his close friend, the glamorous Honor Macklin?

Genres: Harlequin Presents

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1975

About the author

Rachel Lindsay is the pen name of an author who also published as Roberta Leigh, Janey Scott, and Rozella Lake. See the "Roberta Leigh" entry for full biographical information.

Reviews

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!! A very entertaining story about a young opera singer who needs to stop singing for 6 months due to a vocal infection. She ends up being a nanny for a famous opera supporter who has decided that he isn't going to employ anymore up and coming singers. (They seem to throw themselves at him versus taking care of his daughter.) Her deception ends up being the "big" misunderstanding and he throws her out telling her never to return.

I truly liked the hero and heroine. Except for his major temper tantrum at the very end, he was a well balanced individual and I understood why she fell in love with him.

My only regret (small one) is she should have made him eat crow for all the nasty things he did.



Though the author tried to pull this off, it didn't quite work. I needed a few more pages of him getting to taste his own bitter medicine before I was ready for a HEA. However In spite of this, I highly recommend this one.

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid vintage romance about an opera singer who must rest her voice and ends up taking care of a prominent opera promoter's daughter. She keeps her singing ability a secret since the promoter has been chased by ambitious singers who neglect his daughter. A great deal of the story concerns the heroine's efforts taming the daughter, which are quite entertaining. There's an OW and a reckoning when the hero finds out the heroine has lied, but the angst is short-lived. An enjoyable story.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another on the first 100 quest. This one is numbered 80 and was published in 1975. Pretty decent HP. There was pretty good attraction between the heroine and the hero. The best part of the story though was the relationship between the heroine and the hero’s daughter. The heroine comes under somewhat false pretenses to be her babysitter. The little girl is n undisciplined brat and it was super fun to watch the heroine trick her into good behavior. Both the hero and the heroine had well developed, well thought out characters and it was basically a pleasure to read, which is something I cannot say about all of these first 100.

[April Brookshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this old school HP. It had all the necessary elements to be entertaining. But it was one of those situations where everything would've gone smoother had the heroine not kept her secret so long.

The best part of the story was the little girl. I usually don't like children in romance books, but this kid was a funny little brat.

[Melanie♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Loved my visit into the world of opera. This one put me in mind of Mary Burchell's musical books. Very abrupt ending.

[Sudakshina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was delightful! If you are tired of reading about the usual HP heroes, I suggest you read this book. It was quite refreshing to see a man who did not always snarl at the heroine. The hero was a real gentleman. It was a sweet story.

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow really was he full of himself but somehow it worked for me. He was an ass and she needed at break some break!

[Thelma Murphy]

This is one of the most outstanding Mills & Boon books I have ever read. I read this book in the '70's and it has always remained with me. Sharon was brave and took a job because she was desperate and needed to support herself, so she told a small lie in order to take care of herself. She was also very smart because to be able to get a rich spoil girl (Maggie) who is the apple of her father's eye, is a daunting task, and an older more rigid governess would not have been able to use reverse psychology and turn the child around. She not only did that, but also got Maggie to fall in love with her as well. Paul, the owner of "Pailings" thought he was tough and in control of everything but he himself was caught off guard when he ordered her to leave his property after found out about her deceit. He realized that after running her away, how much he had fallen in love with her. Then fate brought them back together after a while when she saw that his company "Pailings" needed a lead opera singer. She returned to his place hoping that time had soften his anger towards her, and of course he was so happy because he had tried all he could to find her, but could not. So it was divine intervention that brought her back. He married her and lived happily ever after.

[may · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a joy reading books from decades ago. Feels like I’m traveling in time through the writing.

But even as a young woman aware that this book is from the 70’s, I still found the shaking and slap uncomfortable to read. Overall, it was a good time.

[Alexis-Morgan Roark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. I enjoyed the glimpse into the world of opera!

[Lobna · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was better than I expected but the whole story was a little naive for my taste but it is an old harlequin and naive is sometimes refreshing after reading a comlpicated book