When Enemies Marry

by Lindsay Armstrong

In bed with her enemy!

Justin Waite made it plain that Lucy could lose everything if she didn't marry him--so she agreed to tie the knot. Justin had claimed he only wanted a marriage of convenience, but soon it became clear he actually wanted a wife--in the fullest sense of the word! Justin was supposed to be Lucy's enemy, so why was she tantalized by the thought of sleeping with her own husband?

Genres: Marriage Of Convenience, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Harlequin, Contemporary Romance, Hqn

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Gillian Smith (alias Lindsay Armstrong) was born in South Africa. She grew up with three ambitions: to become a writer, to travel the world, and to be a game ranger. She didn't achieve the last one, but her fascination for wildlife and that special something about Africa and its big game still remains with her. When she went to work it was in travel, at an agency and an airline, and this started her on the road to seeing the world.

Lindsey met her New Zealand-born husband, who had been working in West Africa, when he was on his way home through Johannesburg. He did go home but in a matter of weeks he was back in South Africa, and six months later they were married. Three of their five children were born in South Africa. Then one in London and one in Australia, after they made the decision to emigrate from South Africa.

It wasn't until her youngest child started school that Lindsay sat down at the kitchen table determined to tackle her other ambition to stop dreaming about writing and do it! She hasn't stopped since. She's not happy unless she has a book under way, and she's discovered she can write through just about anything.

Lindsay and her husband have moved around a lot. They've trained racehorses,farmed, and lived on their boat for six months while they sailed it from the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait and back, an epic voyage! They currently live in Queensland, overlooking the water; they sold their farm, and they're looking around for another boat. She and her husband love to travel and have been back to Africa twice in the past few years. The highlight of one of their trips was a visit to the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where Lindsay did the one thing she swore she would never do: take a ride in a hot-air balloon. She was a nervous wreck as the balloon tottered upright, but will remember it as a unique experience to see the game spreading out on the Serengeti plain beneath her as the sun rose.

"They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there..."

Despite this passion for wildlife and Africa, Lindsay considers Australia her home now and loves the country. She travelled to Sydney to witness the closing weekend of the Olympic Games in September 2000; it made her proud to be an adopted Aussie!

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILERS

Upon her father's death, Lucy ( 20 ) found out that half of her father's Estate and Range belonged to Justin ( 30 ) the owner of the adjoining Estate and Range.
Lucy hero worshipped Justin as a child and he was a Hallmark for her during her adolescent years.
Justin offered to buy her out but Lucy wanted to fight for her beloved birthright.

A fortnight after her father's death he suggested that the practical course to take was to get married, it would simplify matters and they had such a lot in common. Lucy in a moment of panic of losing her property accepted the proposal and in a moment of panic on their wedding night, baring in mind that this was a loveless marriage, declared she will not sleep with him.

Two months passed which were frustrating for Lucy as her husband would treat her as a child and patronise her.
The H often suggested that they should consummate their marriage, he considered Lucy to be sheer perfection.
Lucy was hesitant, she told him she was a virgin and he told her he was older and had a lot more experience. She said she wished she was with someone without any experience at all but who loved her so much.

They agreed to start living in harmony for a while before she made up her mind about the consummation.
One day a couple came to the Range to see the yearlings. Lucy knew that the woman, Joanna, was in a relationship with Justin a few years back ( before Joanna's marriage ) and everybody expected them to get married.
Justin's flaunting of Lucy as his new wife with such a glee and the other woman's shocked reaction to the news let Lucy know that those two weren't over each other.

That night Lucy asked him about his relationship with Joanna. He said they were involved but broke up two years ago. She found out she was unable to have children so she married a middle aged man, her current husband.

Lucy expressed her concerns about been in a loveless marriage with himand he pointed out that practicalities are important too, they often build something strong and enduring because they have basis to build up. They could make a go of it and make the best of things.
At that point he told her that she still had another option, an annulment.

She decided that if he couldn't have Joanna and herself couldn't have a man to love her then they could console each other.
So they consummate the marriage and it was such a revelation for Lucy, she felt translated and realised she loved him all along and told him so adding that she didn't want this knowledge to be a burden for him. He reassured her that it would not be.

In the next few weeks they were getting along perfectly well and were very happy. Lucy accompanied him to Sydney ( my hometown) for the yearlings sales.
They attended a cocktail party which included Joanna and her husband among the quests. Justin was particularly attentive and loving to his wife which left her wondering if it was for show.
At some point she noticed across the room Joanna's eyes intently and intensive on her and a thought passed her mind that Justin was so loving to herself for Joanna's benefit.
At the same time she noticed a deep hostility between Justin and Joanna's husband.

The next day at the Breeders Ball Lucy found herself sitted at the same table as Joanna and her husband. Lucy while happy with Justin been so wonderful to her was still tormented knowing of his love of Joanna.

The next morning they woke up to the news that Joanna's husband suffered a massive heart attack the night before.
Justin rushed to her side as he claimed Joanna didn't have anyone to console her. Before leaving he reassure her that it was long over with Joanna and he loved Lucy.
Lucy thought that it was probably true but not in the way he loved Joanna and she couldn't stop herself from wondering what would happen if Joanna's husband died...
He stayed at the Hospital the whole day.

They returned back to the Range and things weren't the same with Lucy and Justin made no real effort to break down her defences.
A few weeks later Justin went back to Sydney for a few days on business. Lucy was left alone with a sense of grief wondering if he would be seeing Joanna in Sydney.
Then came proof that he did in a form of a picture in a newspaper showing them hand in hand walking out of the Hospital.

That night he did not call her and she was wondering if it was because he was with the other woman. She couldn't stand any more these suspicions, uncertainty and torment.
When he did call the next morning he didn't mention anything about seeing Joanna only told her he was to return the next day.
Lucy knew at this point that she couldn't go on living with the thought of him and Joanna any longer.

Lucy started attending a Convent School at the age of 9, when her mother died. Mother Angelica, the principal, was a beloved mother figure for her and that's where Lucy fled to.
She poured her heart out at her and Mother told her that if she loved the man so much she should fight for him.

Three days later Justin arrived at Mother Angelica's office. Coincidentally Lucy overheard the conversation from the bench she was sitting on outside the window.
The nun chastised him for his treatment of the girl and for marrying her while he had feelings for another woman who Lucy believed was Justin's soulmate.
He replied that he had no intention of being soulmate with anyone other than Lucy. He cared about her and her welfare and felt responsible for her.

After hearing that Lucy fled to her room and soon after Justin was knocking on the door. Lucy told him about the picture in the newspaper and that she knew if Joanna's husband died Justin would want to reunited with her again and her, Lucy, didn't want to be in the way.
She resented him staying with her out of responsibility.
He suggested they go out for coffee so they can talk.

They sat at a restaurant overlooking Sydney Harbour. He said that when Joanna left him,he was in a black mood. He married Lucy because he cared what happened to her not just for the Estate.
The day Joanna came to the Range with her husband to see the yearlings and he introduced Lucy as his wife he felt satisfaction seeing Joanna's reaction but soon he felt remorse that's why he suggested to Lucy to have an annulment but he didn't do it because he really wanted to have her.

He started falling in love with Lucy but that did not blot out Joanna immediately. It was partly habit and partly a sense of remorse towards Joanna because when Joanna saw that day at the Range Justin and Lucy together, it opened it all up for her again as at the same time he was falling in love with Lucy.

He wanted revenge for so long and he got a chance to have it quite unplanned. By the time Joanna's husband had the heart attack Justin only felt affection for Joanna and he never had been in love with her the way he loved Lucy now.
That day Joanna seeing her husband at deaths door, opened her eyes to her love for him, her husband.
The picture at the Hospital: Joanna begged him to together talk to the husband and let him know that they no longer had feelings for each other.
He wasn't holding hands with her outside the Hospital that day. She'd tripped and he stopped her falling.

Lucy was his soulmate and begged for another chance. A light plane appeared over the Harbour Bridge flying a banner saying " I LOVE YOU LUCY, JUSTIN ". And that was it.

I do believe Justin really did love Lucy by the end of the book. It occurred in small stages over a period of time rather than suddenly.
I loved their conversations, so proper and formal, almost like in a Historical novel,witty and intelligent too.

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Lindsay Armstrong sure can write some of the WORST heroes in HPlandia, past or present, and the hero of her When Enemies Marry was a doozy.

Basically, he treated her like GARBAGE. This guy is a narcissistic, manipulative, remorseless s.o.b.

He married the ten year younger, virgin, raised-in-a-convent, heroine to 1) get her land since it is next door to his own ranch; 2)to stick it to his ex-girlfriend for leaving him for another man.

If that wasn't humiliating enough, he lets his secondary OW personal assistant spew absolute venom to his wife and then berates his wife, not the super-efficient OW that he praises time and time again for being an indispensable member of his organization.

I can't believe the author then had the nerve to involve a nun to chide the heroine to "fight" for her man, you know the man obsessed with his ex-girlfriend to the bitter end and who is probably imagining her when he closes his eyes in bed with his wife.

Barfathon!!!!!!!

[boogenhagen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re When Enemies Marry - Lindsay Armstrong cuddles up to her favorite tropes and throws them ALL into this one.

LA takes a MOC, May/December romance, then adds the ever hated H is in love with another woman trope and mashes it into a very interesting day at the HP office.

Just to make things even more sticky and probably upping the tacky factor by an order of magnitude of twenty, LA also gives us the H's former True Love female BFF as not only the H's super duper, highly efficient horse breeding assistant, but the wanna be OW who hates that she couldn't slip into the H's arms as a consolation prize after his big first love loss.

Those HP voyagers who are familiar with LA's backlist of tropes are gonna have a field day with this one, which will probably determine if you love this or hate it.

The book starts with the 20 yr old convent raised, recently orphaned, unicorn grooming h taunting her brand-new, 10 yrs older, patronizing MOC husband H and his patronizing, wildly envious, horsey looking wanna be OW assistant with a subterfuge that she forgot a local reporter was coming to do a story on the family homestead, after the H had vehemently discouraged it.

This irritates the H to no end because the h is very exotically beautiful, but also very naive, very flippantly charming and very, very furious at being married to the H.

In front of both the local reporter, who is swept off his feet by the h's charm, and his OW assistant, the H berates the h for her set up attempt and then goes on to slyly insult and berate her, while he insists that she is a manipulative femme fatale of the worst sort.

When the h protests this treatment later on, roofie kisses and threats of rape ensue and we soon figure out that these two might be married, but the h sure isn't happy about it and the H is that worst kind of patronizing chauvinist, overly paternal in many respects and then overly dominate in his threats of lurve clubbing the h into submission.

Which will make an HP voyager wonder why these two are even married, so LA tells that the h's father and the H's father were BFF's and partners. When the Australian sheep business went bad, the H's father gave the h's dad a loan and in return he got half of the h's family homestead.

The h's father died, the h was left with massive amounts of debt and the H, having known the h since childhood and very aware that she is a born exotic sex kitten goddess in looks, decides he can do worse than to marry her and at least he will be getting some great bloodlines for his future heirs and some interesting arm candy.

The h isn't exactly feeling the love about that and she really isn't feeling the love that the H and his OW assistant seem to go out their way to belittle her attempts to be a serious partner to the H. Partly it is the h's age and her convent education, but it is also her looks that seem to hinder them from actually treating her as an adult.

However after a big weekend of house guests who have come to view the H's prized race horse breeding stables, where the h had to get an emergency staff replacement who came with a very mischievous ten year old son who managed to flood the bathroom and other assorted pranks, the H does seem to soften up on the bullying and patronizing - tho he makes it clear he fiercely resents that the h won't sleep with him.

There are endless discussions that have more than a spattering of the truth when the h remarks that the H only married her because of her owning part of the property and because he wants someone he considers pliable enough to train into his ideal wife.

The H tries to refute that with some clever word play, but this a big foreshadowing moment that the H really IS an insensitive selfish slime swilling nematode with a grudge and a past and very determined that things are going to be his way or the highway and the h is going to sleep with him whether she wants it or not.

Tho to be fair when the H comes in on the wanna be OW trying to belittle the h, he does attempt to insist that the OW assistant treat the h with some respect - tho unfortunately he doesn't do it in front of the h- who stormed out when the H began berating her behavior first.

(It is the standard LA conflict of the H insisting that since the h looks like a tart, she must really be one, when in fact the h is the furthest thing from it.

The H is also on a full blown rampage to revenge himself against beautiful women, tho LA hasn't shared that with us yet, and the adding of the supercilious, catty wanna be OW assistant is more of LA's stirring of the pot.

The wanna be OW would have been the H's mistress if she had been better looking, and LA doesn't really let us forget that as she builds up the characters.)

The h gets another shock when the H's ex lover, that he broke up with two years earlier after she found she couldn't have children and went off and married an older wealthy man, shows up with her husband to take a look at the H's most expensive racing colt.

The h did not know the whole story of why the H's ex and he broke up, but she is sharp enough to connect the dots and realize that there must be a whole lot of passion over the affair still residing in the H and that she is getting backlash from it.

The H tries to deny this of course and push the focus back on the h's resistance to his charms, but this h, for all her flightiness and her chattery ways is actually really sharp. She is overwhelmingly honest about where is at mentally and very astute at reading people.

When the H starts going on about how she had so many marriage proposals, (even one where a guy flew a banner off a plane around Sydney harbor proposing to the h,) that she turned down because she is a heartless flirt, the h tries very hard to explain AGAIN that just because she looks one way, it doesn't mean that is how she really is.

The h also adds that the H is really not her ideal since he is still caught up in his emotions over his ex - which the h is spot on about.

The H doesn't want to hear that, but he has to take off on business for a few days, so the h has a mopey moment and decides to settle for second best. When the H returns, there is more discussion about making the best of things and the H admits that he knows she really isn't a heartless tart.

The H lies and claims it was his way of building up her confidence, but in reality all the garbage the H goes on about is to manipulate the h in doing things as he wants them to be. There is a big unicorn grooming license revocation and the h admits that she is in love with the H.

The smarmy git accepts that as his due and then decides that he and h will soon move to his family home, which his ex lover decorated and left her mark upon all over the place. There is a dramatic crisis with the H's most expensive colt and the h manages to get stuck behind a flood while the H is gone.

There are some more battles when the H returns and finds the h missing, but gradually these two seem to come to an accommodation of sorts that is only marred by the wanna be OW assistant's snide remarks.

Then the H's famous colt is ready to be sold and the ex lover and her husband appear. The H and the husband have some kind of subtle non-verbal mano a mano battle over buying the colt, but after the husband puts in an astronomical winning bid, there is a very uncomfortable scene with both the OW and the ex lover that ends with the h barely keeping her dignity in place, but she does it.

The wanna be OW knows her battle is lost and announces she is resigning and finding another job - she gives the h a half hearted apology too-but her parting blow is to summon the H to the ex lover's side when that woman's husband has a heart attack.

The now defeated wanna be OW insists that the ex-lover needs the H's help and support, knowing that she had already planted the irrevocability of the H's love and longing for the ex lover OW in the mind of the h.

The ex lover is apparently all alone with her husband's very hostile family and the H rushes off to give her whatever aid he can. The h is unhappy, but resigned and things take a decided turn for the worst when the H and the ex lover are photographed as the main couple of a huge gossip page.

The h takes herself off to see her Mother Superior from her old convent school, convinced that she is nothing more than a second best sloppy second and the Mother Superior gives the h the dubious advice to fight for her man.

Then the H shows up and the Mother Superior verbally flays him, with the h inadvertently listening in. The H and h reunite and he insists that both he and the ex are over each other and that the ex lover now loves her husband.

The H also does a fairly decent " I wasn't in love with you when I married you, but you grew on me in the end" speech and as a special bonus, he hires a plane to fly a banner around Sydney Harbor declaring his love for the h.

The h finally believes that his words are true and we leave them trying various bikini's on the h while getting ready to go on a world cruise honeymoon for the mostly believable short term HEA.

This one is difficult, because LA crams a lot of tropes in there and while it works, it is a LOT of drama to wade through. Yet the writing is very sluggish in getting thru all of the processes of uniting the h and H.

( It is kind of like riding around with your eyes closed, it doesn't seem like you are making any progress and then you realize you have gone several miles.)

This book will not be for everyone, the h's statements are blunt and honest and yet so revealing of how young she really is that it makes the H seem way older than ten years in comparison. A lot of this book feels like the H is seriously cradle robbing and it gives off a creepy vibe.

It isn't until the h dumps the H's hiney that he loses the aging, cynical and world-weary roué attitude stance and actually comes across as a viable, mentally youthful enough partner for the h. Unfortunately the H's character revision comes about ten pages from the end of the book and it detracts a lot from the viability of a long term HEA.

So while I don't think these two will make it long term, the H's big declaration was well done and I had enough faith in the h that she would grow and be able to overcome any roadblocks that a failed relationship with the H would put in her way.

It isn't LA's best by any means, but it is VERY indicative of her style. It is definitely not the worst time ever spent with an HP outing, but you will need to have a certain LA specialized palate to tolerate it.

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a May/December story as much as it is a marriage of convenience story. The heroine is a convent-raised 20 year-old who married her childhood idol from the neighboring farm/ranch/estate after her father died. The first part of the story is how the heroine is figuring out how she can be a proper wife (ie: have sex) with a husband who doesn't love her. The hero makes a lot of barbed remarks, but softens as he sees her trying to cope with dinner parties, the household help (and the housekeeper's precocious ten year-old son)and running the house.

The second half after they have sex and life is good, is really about the hero's growth. He thinks he's in love with an OW who married a rich older man. But he comes to discover that is all in the past and he does love his wife. The heroine runs away after she see a photo of the H with the OW in the newspaper, but the hero is runs right after her. And any need the reader has to castigate him for being so stupidly blind is taken care of when the nun at the convent gives it to him with both barrels.

This isn't a fast paced story. It reminds me a lot of those old Signet Regencies where the fun is in watching the hero slowly come to appreciate the heroine in all of her chatty, naive glory.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I liked this book very much initially. It's a bit on the dry side. Lucy comes off as very young, which isn't intrinsically bad, but it's harder to believe in the love story between her and Justin, who is 10 years older and seems like he's robbing the cradle. It's like he can't decide whether to treat her like his teenaged ward or his adult wife. and Lucy seems to take her cues from him, not to mention feeling resentful for being trapped in a loveless marriage.

However, with time, my opinion did improve of this novel. I think it still feels a bit coming of age, and at the same time, it's about a marriage of convenience which slowly and convincingly becomes a love match. I will say that the last ten-fifteen pages were the strongest part of the book. I gained needed clarity on what Lucy's issues were and how Justin felt for her. I don't mind how older Harlequin Presents don't show you what the hero is thinking. I think it's sort of like a love mystery, trying to guess the hero's feelings based on his behavior. In this case, you don't really know where you stand with Justin. I did believe he had feelings for Lucy, but I didn't see much intensity from him. And while I thought he was completely over his ex, apparently he hadn't moved on 100% emotionally until he realized what he felt for Lucy.

I like my Harlequin Presents emotionally intense and with plenty of drama and angst. This one didn't have quite enough of any of those for my tastes. However, the writing was good enough that I did feel that it deserves more than 3 stars. I'll settle for 3.25/5.0 stars.

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to rate this book. In a way it was very sad...This is a MOC. The heroine is left with mounds of bills, owing half the estate to her neighbor, who happens to be the hero. He in turn, feels responsible for her and doesn't want to abandon her. So they marry. All through the book, I thought he secretly loved her and took the opportunity to marry her when the chips were down. But as it happens, he is in love with someone else who jilted him for a richer older man and when he comes into contact with OW again, our heroine can sense that he is still in love.

She eventually leaves him returning to the convent where she was raised, and that's where you learn he came to love her, but not till the end. . I was disappointed that for most of the book, the hero clearly called the shots, had the upper hand, and was just settling for a comfortable life. I thought the heroine deserved so much better. I wish she would have made him work harder to win her back.

[Jac K · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 "no suds" Stars
I can’t remember what drew me to this one, but can say it was an absolute chore to finish. I struggled to get through it, even left it for days and didn’t read at all which I never do. The book follows the h, Lucy around; she’s 20 and was raised in a convent, and is up there on my most immature h I’ve ever read list. I know several reviewers thought the H, Justin was terrible, but I found it all stale. Justin isn’t overly cruel; he’s dry and definitely not warm and fuzzy, but he hardly speaks except short little condescending convo’s. Truthfully, he had WAY more patience than I did with regards to Lucy. I found Justin boring as hell, and Lucy damn near unbearable.

The book starts with them already married, so we’re left to play catch up. It’s fuzzy on the details of why they got married. She’s fresh out of convent school, and her dad died and left her broke and in major debt. Both of their dad’s split the land in half, so they decided to get married to combine it. (??!!) Same for the enemy’s part, unless I blocked it out of my mind, there’s little backstory why Lucy thinks they are enemies. I don’t recall him ever saying it. IMO, it was pretty obvious that he liked her the entire time, so that was no shocker.

I kept waiting for this to get dicey because I’d read that he would drop everything to run to Joanna the ex, and later see a picture, and that he sided with OW Sasha. (asst.) I won’t go into all the details, but what a letdown when she’s the one that told him he had to go to Joanna; then refused to accompany him when he asked her to come with him. He also left with this….

“It’s over between us, just remember that. I love you, Lucy Waite.”

When he returns, he tries to reassure her, but she shuts down the convo. Then we live in her head as she neurotically spirals that he regrets marrying her, and Joanna is the love of his life. When he leaves to go to Sydney (same city J lives in) she once again refuses to go; then we’re back in her head as she “just knows they’re hooking up” in Sydney.

The OW asst. doesn’t meddle, and she adds zero drama to the plot. Lucy and Sasha pretty much hate each other, which neither really hides, and they’re condescending towards each other a couple of times. Early on when Lucy’s having one of her moments, Justin tells her she needs to get along with Sasha because she pretty much runs his program, but that’s it. (don’t rock the boat Lucy, if you can help it”) There is zero dialogue/musing from Lucy where she feels left out, or mistreated, or second best to Sasha in his eyes.

Bottom Line- The MC’s interactions are like the chicken or egg dilemma, but whichever you decide to choose first it goes like this… Lucy acts immature, super childish quite hostile over and over again. H talk to her condescending and as if she is being childish... ow adds snark... rinse and repeat over and over again.

There just wasn’t enough meat on the bones for me. There was virtually zero drama, and I didn’t find Lucy’s actions endearing or amusing. Justin isn’t a big enough asshole for me to hate, and the two OW issues were lackluster at best. The “Joanna” issue was all in Lucy’s head, and it dragged on forever with nothing flaming her imagined fire. This one was a dud for me.

[DamsonDreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems to be my role in life, to uprate any low scoring LAs. In truth I think probably more a 3.5 but I'm going with 4. If you've ever been insecure in a relationship, due to lack of confidence in your own worth combined with the sensation that your alpha mate's "unresolved ex" is hanging over you, plus he's a Scorpio (lol) then I think this one will speak to you. Lucy is very young, ex convent, no mum, father recently died. She marries Justin, at least 10 years older and a pretty cool customer, to enable her to remain at her family home. He, in classic LA H style, plays his cards v close to his chest. Definite dom vibe, inducting a virgin vibe and still in a dynamic with ex vibe. This one was a bit anxiety inducing. I get why people downrate it. Obviously he is totally smitten/jealous by end but he really puts her through the wringer. Anyway, I like the way LA often has me thinking after I finish one of her stories. For me, she is top flight HP/M&B.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reread this again and I really didn't like the hero and I cant believe I gave it four stars. I hated that he still thought he loved the OW even when they had 'relations' for the first time. I loved the scene with the nun giving him heck for the way he treated the h and I liked his romantic gesture at the end of the book but I still hated how he explained things to her. He was faithful so I guess I will leave the fourth star but I just wish he had loved her all along and was over the OW before he married her. oh well Fairy tales can be so frustrating....

[seton · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF.

The book starts after they had married so there was a lot of exposition to explain how they came to the present point. I read up to Page 100 and I was too bored to continue. I might read her again because she has a lot of MOC stories which is my favorite trope but hope they dont all have an immature heroine. She's 20 but seemed like 16. There was only a 10 yr difference between them but it felt like 15.

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this one as low angst. All of it due to the insecurities of the very young heroine.

The couple are not really enemies. They are in a MOC and the heroine is in a contentious frame of mind since she thinks the Hero took advantage and married her when she was in a vulnerable state of mind. Her father had just passed away and she finds out that her sheep station is hocked to the hilt. Moreover, it is to the father of the Hero, their neighbor. The Hero proposes a marriage partnership and she accepts since she was lonely and afraid to be on her own for the first time.

She does act very young and resents it when the Hero and the wanna be OW treat her patronizingly. The Hero, on his part is attracted to the very lovely heroine, and frustrated since she has not allowed him to consummate their marriage. The Hero wants a real marriage. Anyways, the heroine is also worried about his feelings for an old girlfriend of his, who married another man, although the Hero keeps reassuring her that it all ended long ago.

Things get better when they do start sleeping together. But the insecurities of the heroine never really go away so she is constantly worried. Naturally since they all move in the same circles, she still needs to come into contact with the passive aggressive wanna be OW, who constantly tries to poke at the insecurities of the heroine. Yes apparently she has been hoping for years that the Hero would look her way, but instead he turned to the heroine.

So yes basically the heroine needs to grow up and gain more confidence until at the end the Hero makes a grand gesture and reassures her of his love.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Lindsay Armstrong book, her books are OTT but entertaining.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

So slow, almost boring. He’s patronizing. Most of the book occurs in her head, a little difficult to follow, enigmatic comments that are supposed to be deeply meaningful but are just sil

Like better on re-read but still object to tediously long introspection/talking by h.
Reread again and it slipped, boring in parts and H is a sanctimonious jerk, willing to use h but no love.

[SmittenKitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one where in the ending the hero has a plane fly over with a banner sign saying I Love You for the heroine.

Marriage of convenience, but that doesn’t stop the H from wanting relations with the h even though he still believes himself in love with his former girlfriend who married another guy. H admits to using h to make his former girlfriend jealous. H slowly realizes he loves the h and has a big romantic gesture with the plane at the end.

[Martha B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The H seemed a little patronizing in the beginning. He provoked the heroine to behave immaturely. She felt insecure because of her youth and the OW- H’s ex and his big love. I didn’t feel much angst though and I guess I needed author’s explanation near the end. Not that I bought the story about the OW tripping in the photo.
The heroine was young and very lovely. The outcome was easy to predict.

[Gogol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I borrowed this, then I read boogenhagen’s entire review and then read the last chapter and I’m so glad o had the forethought to do both before putting myself through reading this because the hero needs a good thump. He’s the sort of hero over whom iPads only narrowly escape from being thrown at the wall.

[Diedre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why reviewers are raking the hero over the coals. He was a pretty good guy! Until the end when you discover things that were brewing, I thought he handled his young, naïve wife with a lot of grace! And you could see him falling hard for her. Her antics were rather cute and innocent, but she brought out an honesty with her pure heart that made the story.

[Helen Moulden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very long winded story. I stuck it out to the end and have to say not the best story ever written.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good angsty older harlequin book.

[Xai Xai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very vintage, the evolution of the h from child to woman was written perfectly. They were neighbours with the h having a secret crush on H, which eventually turn to hate due to unrelinquished feelings. They marry and the h had to overcome her shyness, jealousies, falling in love, immaturity and dislikes. The hero was a like a big brother though eventually falling for h. She was his 'breath of fresh air' and they worked out their suspicion of thinking other people were their soulmates. An alrighty read ! Heroine was a real chatterbox! H was understanding and patient a true beta H.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy es muy infantil, pero no tonta. Justin es tranquilo y comprende lo infantil que ella es, la paciencia es su arma para ganarse a Lucy. La historia está buena, pero si no conoces el outback y como las cosas funcionan allí, no comprendes algunas de las escenas más importantes del libro. Lucy me gustó porque en el momento clave de la historia actua de manera coherente con su identidad desde el comienzo de la historia y sin hacer tonterías.

[RomLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justin Waite made it plain that Lucy could lose everything if she didn't marry him—so she agreed to tie the knot. Justin had claimed he only wanted a marriage of convenience, but soon it became clear he actually wanted a wife—in the fullest sense of the word! Justin was supposed to be Lucy's enemy, so why was she tantalized by the thought of sleeping with her own husband?

[Diamond]

I was looking for this book for a long time



532- عندما يتزوج عدوان - ليندساي ارمسترونغ ( قلوب عبير )
- خطفتني من المهد
- تزوجة البطلة وهي صغيرة
- لديهم مزرعة خيول
- أصدقائهم زاروهم بالهولكوبتر
- أوقفها الشرطي لتجاوزها السرعة