Beautiful, sad, tragic novel with a happy ending that I loved. I am not sure if I'd like to read it again though!
EeeJay
Beautiful, sad, tragic novel with a happy ending that I loved. I am not sure if I'd like to read it again though!
More like 4.5. Premise was different and played out well till the end. I think most people will like it. The thing that separates it from other formulatic stories is that you sympathise with the characters ( all of them). I don't know why but for some reason I thought it was written by Carole Mortimer...
Let me sum it up: Suppressed heroine. Jilted. Rebound 'physical' relationship. Hero just attracted to her false facade. Not gonna last. The end.
The story didn't have enough romance and the reason could have been that Leigh was scared of the cousins doing it - well - if that's the case then don't make them cousins...
I saw that there are no reviews for this book so here goes: This is an amazing book. Read it asap!:)
Gwen and Bradley are forced to marry - sounds familiar? Well, it's not - For one thing, Gwen is no shrinking flower and knows it's a marriage for money arranged by her God-father ( who is incidentally Brad's uncle)...She's strong and can hold her own unlike Harlequin's other somewhat questionable heroines.She's going to university for a business degree and she and Brad have a verbal match going on ( which Brad didn't expect) right from the start. After she adopts two kittens....well, let's just say things get interesting...I love this book - it's funny and it makes you think that for this couple, it's a permanent match ( which is important) because they have a beautiful friendship which will sustain even when they're 80 and ugly as sin ( I know...too much imagination on my part but still.....)=)
I think I liked A Stranger To Love better. Both follow strong women and supportive men but ASTL was more thrilling for me. This felt like a full length novel waiting to happen.
What a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful book. A coming-of-age story handled with grace and poise. It almost doesn't read like a HQN but a full-fledged novel and so it got to deal with tragedy, pain, strength and love with due attention and detail. This is the second book I've read by Donna Huxley and like the first one, the business aspect is detailed to the point where it reads like an autobiography, the book is so informative and so thrilling. For people who get bored by trivialities of everyday life, this book mightn't be that good a read, but I loved the fact that the heroine was educated and independent (she was an engineer) and also the challenge the h faced, the marketing genius and H's support. I have a very strong suspicion that the author (male or female) actually worked as an executive and didn't just assume what they do. The pace of the story is slower than usual and things take time to be set up but it is highly recommended for those who love strong heroines, strong heroes and rising-of-the-phoenix-from-the-ashes kind of storiesP.S I would recommend you disregard the cover and just picture the H/h since the story doesn't focus too much on look but more so on personalities.
I just feel there was SO much that could have been done in this book. The H/h were just my cup of tea (on paper). A charming and beta hero. A strong and independent h. In fact, it resonated so deeply with me because I'm almost feeling the same thing the h is. I want to have someone to talk to at the end of the day. I just feel it was mishandled at the end with weird confusions and I really think the H was at fault for not confiding in his wife what problems he was facing at work. She was educated, clearly able to handle her own business and was willing to help him out. He acted like a child and that just made this story go down.
Rating: 4.5. When I started reading it, I realized I've read it before too... a long long time ago. And yes it's a strong book. Very well written and based on the trust that should exist between spouses. The rating's 4.5 just because I think I would have reacted less rationally than the h did and because I'd have liked the H to repent a little bit more...
I actually really liked it. Flowed really nicely...
Start was so good and quickly escalated to childish crap and confusion
4.25-4.5LOVED the beginning. Never actually read a beginning like that to be honest. And there was a line in the book which made me laugh for 5 minutes straight (snorts and all) so there was that.
I don't understand the low ratings on this one. It was a well-written romance intercepted with humor. There was prominent class distinction but CL handled that very well and for that I almost admired her H. Was it a perfect story? Well... no and hence the 4 star rating. But in terms of the other formulatic books there are out there, this one at least tried to be different. Plus, you do get to see the guy's just as discomfited as the girl is and not all in control despite being older, richer and more experienced (maybe the reason for low ratings by many? Hmmm)
Good start and sweet.
For some reason it didn't grate on me and that's always a good thing :)
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