Entries Tagged 'Category' ↓
March 20th, 2010 — 0.5 Stars, Arabia/Middle East, Arranged/Forced Marriage, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Estranged, Great Britain, Interracial, Kings, Princes, Sheiks, Chiefs, Mistaken Identity, S-U, Secret Baby, Sheik/Desert, The Arts, Travel
I found this book to be an absolutely awful read. It’s one of those romances that if your non-romance reading friend were to pick it up they could use just about everything in it to prove their point on why romance is garbage. No—seriously it’s true…
Lucy Benson is in debt up to her eyeballs. The bank has pulled out it’s financial backing for her plan to renovate Westbury and now she has to deal with creditors and contractors she’d already hired and had start working on the castle. When Kahl (just call me Kahl) shows up she assumes he’s one of them. He doesn’t correct her.
She tells him her sob story and how she plans to pay everyone back, never knowing he was the reason why the bank pulled out of their deal. Then he proceeds to take advantage of Lucy in what amounts to a one night stand. The next day he leaves her before she wakes up and leaves her with no way to contact him. He also leaves her pregnant because he’s a dumbass and chose not to use protection.
When Lucy unexpectedly runs into Kahl again in Abadan she’s surprised and amazed that he’s Sheikh Kahlil and also insanely worried he’s somehow found out about Edward. Very quickly he puts two and two together and jumps to the most illogical conclusion – Lucy must be a gold digging whore who planned it from the beginning! (Okay so not in those exact words, but the meaning was just the same.)
He forces her into marriage and Lucy proves how idiotic she truly is by feeling guilty that Kahlil never saw Edward go through a lot of his firsts. WHAT? Why? The guy is an irredeemable asshole who even now is threatening her with legal action to take away Edward, won’t let her leave his country, and still thinks she’s an immoral woman who is completely unacceptable as the future queen of his country. Feeling guilty over his irresponsible misbegotten behavior? Puh-lease.
The 180 flip in the last ten pages didn’t do anything to redeem Kahl in my mind.
Rating: 0.5 Stars
Buy: The Sheikh's Captive Bride
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March 14th, 2010 — 2.5 Stars, Blind, Book Review, Business, Category, Children, Contemporary, Divorced, G-I, Housekeeper/Maid, Marriage of Convenience, Older Woman/Younger Man, Secretary, Tycoon, United States of America, Virgin Heroine
Philomena Peabody made a promise to her mother. She took care of her three younger sisters and when the last one got married, her youth had slipped away. Now at 27, Phil has a lot of thinking to do.
Penn Wilderman is in a custody battle with his ex-wife for Robbie, their adopted son, his nephew. In the midst of all this he’s recovering from snow blindness. (Hurray for an original blindness idea!) When he hears Phil for the first time he thinks she sounds like someone’s mother.
This makes him think she’s much older than him. She’s actually about 10 to 12 years younger (something that gets confused later when he asks his family servant what people would think of him marrying her.) Phil tries to correct him a few times, especially when he calls her “sweet little old lady.” Every time though, he always cuts in and ignores her protests.
Penn convinces Phil first to move into his mansion to help him watch over Robbie, then later to a marriage of convenience in order to help him win at the custody hearing. The plan however nearly backfires on him… because it wasn’t for Robbie’s sake Penn wanted Phil. It was for his own.
It was pretty insulting at the end when he sees her (for the second time, because he couldn’t place her the first time) and tells her he thought he was going crazy imagining himself in love with an old woman. Talk about double standards.
The writing is pretty confusing in parts and some things aren’t as well explained as they could be. Which is too bad because another category romance of hers I really really like and doesn’t have this problem.
The ending resolution could have been dragged out a little. Phil was clever when she ran – she went to work first and deleted her employment history so he couldn’t track her down. He was clever and got to her quickly. Phil begs his forgiveness when he shows up and it’s all HEA in two seconds.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: If Love Be Blind
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March 11th, 2010 — 1 Star, Blackmail, Book Review, Category, Duchess, Countess, Marchioness, Great Britain, M-O, Regency, Secret Agent, Thief, Widow or Widower
Constance Townley is the dowager duchess of Wellford. She is extremely beautiful and extremely poor. Now a widow, Constance remembers the comfortable life she had with her departed husband. He settled her well, but because of the naïve (re. halfwit lamebrain imbecile) nephew (also known as the new duke) is not honoring it and has actually used her home to pay Barton a gambling debt.
Barton is the evil entitled gentlemen (and I use the term lightly) wants Constance to be his mistress/whore and it striving to get that by any means possible. He does several things such as acquiring her home, blackmailing her with the jewels which she had to sell, and threatening to spread malicious gossip.
The hero in all this is Anthony de Portnay Smythe. He is really Eustace Smith (not that this matters in the slightest). He’s a thief which in other words is a spy for government. As a self-made wealthy man, he’s just seen the last of his brothers’ widows’ daughters (how much does that suck seriously) married and feels like something in lacking in his life that gives him purpose. He’s been secretly in love with Constance for a long time but when the government suspects that she’s helping Barton he plans to use her to get his man by any means possible.
The whole story was annoying and gave me very little enjoyment. The repetition of the same drama and its same lack of resolution got old very quickly. For the most part I just couldn’t get involved at all as quite simply, it just couldn’t hold my attention. The cover on the other hand is scrumptious and very pretty.
Rating: 1 Stars
Buy: A Wicked Liaison
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January 24th, 2010 — 1.5 Stars, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Estranged, Gentry, Italy, S-U, Science, Secret Baby, Tycoon, Working with Land
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Matteo De Luca is one prideful, stubborn man. He was stubborn at twenty-five and he still is at thirty-five. He’s very wealthy and comes from a blueblood Italian family but chooses not to share this with anyone, especially our heroine until after she is staring gobsmacked at his house in Tuscany.
Stephanie Leyland-Owen married Charles when Matteo broke it off with her 10 years ago and disappeared. She married Charles to protect her unborn child from her father, who is a very prejudice man. Her son, Simon Matthew Leyland-Owen, does not look like Matteo (he actually looks like Matteo’s grandmother) which is how she manages to keep Matteo from guessing the truth.
At twenty-nine, Stephanie would like to think she’s able to stand up to her father and not care about how ridiculous family dimensions are in her house. Her mother who has until midway through the novel been a doormat suddenly grows a spine and starts to talk back. Her one brother is a mimicry of their father. Her other is a nonentity, but is supposedly carefree and charming.
The novel is way to slow moving. The sex is rather pathetic, even the daring one out in the open. I didn’t really feel like the leads were connecting emotionally, let alone falling back in love. Matteo doesn’t believe Stephanie about her behavior from years ago. She never brings him to task not telling her about himself and for letting her father treat him like crap when by all rights he should be squishing her dad like a bug.
Overall it was just very meh.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
Buy: The Italian's Secret Child
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January 11th, 2010 — 3 Stars, Africa, Baroness or Viscountess, Category, Children, Contemporary, Divorced, Gambling, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, P-R, Racing, Scarred Hero, Virgin Heroine
By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer
This one had a few twists and turns I didn't see coming, and it was more believable. The background of the leading characters unfolds throughout the book, and some of it you don't find out until mid-point.
Samantha van Bergen is in a disastrous marriage, mothering a step-daughter that she dearly loves. This little girl is bright and precocious, and knows more than anyone realizes she does. Her mother died, and Samantha had been her nanny.
The book begins with a bang. Samantha's husband, Johann, is a compulsive gambler, who has gambled away a family fortune. He loses it all to Cristiano. And come to find out, he has tossed in Samantha to sweeten the pot, but only after he offers his daughter first (nice guy, right?!) but Cristiano rejects this.
Of course, Cristiano has fallen in love with Samantha at first sight. He knows that the little girl will come with her stepmother.
The question is why is he going to this trouble? And what other unfoldments might we find along the way that unlock the puzzle?
Sam takes Gabriella and goes to England from Monte Carlo. When she is there, we learn more about her early life. She is definitely worthy of the best.
Lucky for her, Cristiano agrees with this. He wants to settle a fortune on her in a pre-nup, but she isn't interested in his money. They marry without a pre-nup, and when a divorce seems imminent, he wants her to use an attorney to guarantee her rights.
Instead, she decides to fight her fears, and she is successful.
She is a plucky heroine and you root for her when she comes out on top. There's very little fighting or whining; there is a strong, wealthy and scarred hero.
I give it a 3. Have you read it?
If you'd like to submit a review on a novel you've read, check out LRP's guidelines for submission.
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Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:44:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 8th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Bodyguard, Category, Contemporary, Guest Reviews, P-R, Queen or Princess, Regency, Survival, Widow or Widower
By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer
This is a book I really enjoyed. Chantal Thibaudet is a princess, but leading an unhappy life. Her marriage was loveless (and included physical abuse, so be warned) but she is now widowed with a four year old daughter. Her in-laws are power hungry, including a pre-nup that basically holds her daughter captive while forbidding her to remarry. The world sees her as glamorous, which she is, and doesn't see the negatives.
But life is about to change. Returning home by airplane in very rough turbulence she is befriended by Demetrius Mantheakis, who has been hired, unbeknownst to her, to be her bodyguard because her life has been threatened. The plane goes down; they begin an affair; she finds out he was hired -- and her life is in danger.
How are they going to protect her from a crazy person -- who might even be one of the inlaws?
He takes her to his private island where the villagers are completely loyal to him, and he is able to ensure her safety until they get a better handle on the enemy.
How is she going to keep her love for Demetrius, who also loves her, without losing her daughter in light of the pre-nup.
All's well that ends well. Love finds a way.
I rate it 3.5 stars.
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Originally posted 2008-09-01 05:16:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 27th, 2009 — 2 Stars, A-C, Blackmail, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Divorced, Friends, Marriage of Convenience, Mexico, Pregnant, Tycoon, United States of America, Working with Land
The main plot line for Marrying King’s Millions is marriage of convenience, which winds up not being so very convenient. I found Travis King’s reasons for marrying a little strange, and stranger still to find out his brother did it and wound up finding his soul mate and having a little HEA. Seems way too neat, but then it is part of the Kings of California line and most lines will have interconnected stories with past lead cameos.
Travis King is a vineyard owner looking for an international distribution deal with Thomas Henry. His eligible bachelordom means Henry is pushing is “unsavory daughters” (we never meet them by the way) so in order to avoid these daughters Travis coerces Julie O’Hara, an unmarried childhood friend low on her luck into a marriage deal. He’ll give her money to start her bakery after one year of marriage.
Jean Claude Douchette, Julie’s sleazy immoral ex-husband turns out to be not so ex as she thought, Travis is certain she tricked him. He believes women in general are only after his money so while he’s disappointed he is not surprised. When he compromises her in public and pictures appear the next day even then he’s wondering if she did it on purpose. Nothing Julie says or does convinces him otherwise until she’s pregnant and then for inconsistency sake he suddenly believes her. Go figure.
Rating: 2 Stars
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December 26th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, Australia/New Zealand, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Great Britain, Housekeeper/Maid, J-L, Secret Baby, Travel, Tycoon
When Cristo Verón, owner of a vastly successful private plane company, heard that his soon to be brother-in-law might have gotten some maid pregnant in Australia, he hops on the soonest flight out to check the woman and her claim out. He expects to find a pretty face and not much else, instead he finds that Isabelle Brown. She is not what he expects and pretty soon Cristo is determined to have this little housekeeper as his mistress. Will he figure out he wants her all to himself or will he lose the only thing money can’t buy?
Magnate’s Make Believe Mistress is a quick read. There were some inconsistencies that I wondered about as I read. For instance, why did he check out the woman’s claim instead of the potential father? Why not hire a detective to sniff her out? It is an interesting spin on the "secret-baby" plot though, so I give Bronwyn Jameson credit for that.
I was there was more meat to this romance. I kept waiting for something big to happen. There really wasn’t a whole lot of conflict to the story once the hero figured out the heroine wasn’t pregnant, but her sister. No angsty blow-up that either party had to overcome. I was expecting Cristo to fume like most romance novels heroes, but he didn’t. It would have been refreshing if it didn’t seem so odd considering his character.
The story was decent, but not something I’d reread again.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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December 20th, 2009 — 2 Stars, Big Misunderstanding, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Foster/Orphan, P-R, Police, Rape/Abuse, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Western
I wanted to read another Western story when I selected Rogue Stallion. It’s set in Montana and is part of the Montana Mavericks series in the Silhouette line. I like the yellow and brown cover it reads and feels very Western.
The book itself is kind of average. I finished reading it because it was there, not because it was all that entertaining. It’s not bad, it’s just not that good.
The hero, Sterling McCallum, is a brooding plain clothes cop and ex-military. He grew up in foster care after sending his mother to jail for abuse. He has no family and no real close attachments. He knows he has issues and more specifically one of them is that nobody (especially a woman) lies to him.
The heroine is Jessica Larson. She grew up very sheltered, two parents, no real problems or hardships. She began a career as a social worker in her early twenties. Very early in her career, she went out alone based on a call about spousal abuse and was very badly beaten and nearly raped by the husband who blamed her for his wife leaving him. It’s not something she talks about and she took the hit publicly to protect the wife. Now she is in charge of the local unit and makes sure to send social workers out in twos or more. She too has no real family left.
Both are loners.
Jessica wants a baby, but can’t have babies herself. She couldn’t have them before the attack (supposed improbable at best) but now she definitely can’t have one of her own. Much of the book is focused on Jessica’s deep desire for children. In an effort to find Baby Jennifer’s mother Sterling and Jessica get close.
Rating: 2 Stars
Buy: Rogue Stallion
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December 12th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, ARC, Business, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Enemies, Executive, Great Britain, P-R, Tycoon
Callum Ironstone wanted nothing more than to get Miranda Owen off his conscious. He could still remember her grief-stricken accusations that he killed her father, drove him to suicide. He’d done his best to make up for the harshness of his actions in the years afterward, not that she knew, but guilt still plagued him. In a last ditch effort of redemption Callum offers Miranda a contract to be a caterer for his holiday dinner party. What he didn’t expect was to be thrown completely off his guard… and for her to wind up in his bed. But now that she’s there he’s determined to keep her there.
The first concern I had about the novel was how the two would finally resolve the issue of Miranda’s father. Would Callum reopen the case and find the father innocent? Or would he show her undeniable proof about her father’s guilt? I found it hard to believe she’d land in his bed despite the uncomfortable attraction she felt for him. Uncomfortable is me projecting – because I would be seriously upset to find myself lusting after the man whose actions forced my father to consider suicide as the only way out and then take action on those suicidal thoughts.
While Miranda was anxious and worried once or twice about her attraction to him, she manages to push aside her feelings on that topic because of a conversation where they talked at cross purposes. She thought he was apologizing for wrongfully accusing her father. He was apologizing for being so harsh and public about his retaliation.
One of the biggest things in favor of this novel was how little time to took to deal with the breakup near the end and the follow up angst. Callum was very mature and worked quickly to fix and keep things from deteriorating. He was understanding and had foresight when most heroes would have been bullheaded, hurt. He did miss his chance to pull a Mr. Darcy behind Miranda’s back to humbly help her brother, but he did help (with her tagging along) and managed getting his HEA anyway.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy from Amazon: Millionaire Under the Mistletoe
Buy eHarlequin: Millionaire Under the Mistletoe
December 8th, 2009 — 4 Stars, ARC, Big Misunderstanding, Category, Contemporary, Cursed Lead, Entrepreneur, Executive, United States of America, V-Z
Coming on Strong in three words: kinky, flirtatious, sassy. Bonus on the cover for the sexy as sin hunk. If you're looking for a heroine who owns her sexuality and turns her hero into a pile of mush this is your novel. Weber has a way with words and is very clever. I'm positive you will devour this novel with enthusiasm and delight. I know I did.
Mitch Carter is in trouble. Somebody is sabotaging to his hotel; nothing overt, at least not yet, but he needs to find the culprit before the opening. Meanwhile, his event planner has canceled and he is in desperate need for a new one. Desperate enough in fact to hire the woman who dumped him at the altar for the job.
Belle Forsham has never forgotten Mitch and the stupid way she acted. Her only excuse is that she was young and vulnerable. When Mitch's sister played with her nerves and fears, Belle chickened out of the wedding. Now it's years later and the opportunity to be with Mitch has come again. Grabbing at this second chance, Belle plans to give it all she's got and knock Mitch right off his feet... and if by any stroke of luck she can get him to help her father so much the better.
Problems continue for Mitch after Belle's arrival. He finds himself as strongly attracted to her as he was before. Grown-up Belle packs more of a punch to his gut, tightening him knots right from the very first. Despite his attraction, Mitch is determined to keep it just business between them... and pardon the pun, but it's going to be harder than he expected.
For a Big Misunderstanding plot that is sexy and full of quirky humor pick up Coming on Strong.
Rating: 4 Stars
Originally posted 2009-03-20 05:17:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 8th, 2009 — Category, Guest Blogger, P-R
by Tessa Radley, guest blogger and author of Millionaire Under the Mistletoe.
I’ve been thinking a lot about heroines lately. About the careers they have, the jobs they do, and the effect their career, earning ability and self-esteem have on their relationship with the hero.
I write romance for Silhouette Desire. Romance novels have always—as far back as Jane Eyre
—given women the right to a career...if they choose to have one. My dilemma is this: How consuming can the heroine’s career be?
My heroes are usually powerful, wealthy men—alpha men, leaders of the pack. Guys who usually don’t have any inkling that they need a woman to make them whole. In their eyes, they are whole already. Their lives are in control. Until my heroines come along to foul everything up and prove to them that there’s more to life—and love—than they ever dreamed possible.
I'll confess that I admire strong woman. And I rather like the idea of writing a book where the heroine holds a high-flying job, finds herself pregnant, and the hero remains home to raise the child. There’s lots of conflict to explore there about roles. But it’s an idea that remains in my drawer. Recently I read His Needs, Her Needs
by Willard F. Harley Jr. Originally published in 1986 this edition was reprinted in 2007. Harley states, “Most men are willing to marry a woman who expects to be financially supported throughout life. But there aren’t many women who would marry men they would need to support.” True? Or false? If it’s true my stay-at-home-hero story is not only going to fail with my editor it’s going to sink with readers as well...
Okay, so that might be an extreme case. But what about the world where the hero and the heroine hold equal power in their careers of choice? Traditionally the man has always had the edge. He’s the boss, she’s the secretary. He’s the prince, she’s Cinderella. To a large extent those archetypes play into our fantasies. But I believe they have been changing.
In mystery and thriller genres we’ve become accustomed to—in fact we demand—heroines who are every bit as competent in a man’s world. Kay Scarpetta. Maura Isles & Jane Rizzoli. Kinsey Millhone. Eve Dallas. A female Jack Reacher wouldn’t cause reader consternation. Urban fantasy has followed suit with kick-ass heroines like Buffy Summers and Riley Jensen.
So I’ve had an idea I’ve been playing around with for a while about a heroine whom the hero employs as a bodyguard—and yes, she saves his life. She rescues him. He may be wealthy, but she holds the ultimate power of life and death. Unsurprisingly that story remains unwritten, mostly because I couldn’t convince my editor to buy it. “Heroine is too alpha...” Hmm.
Amelia
, the movie about aviator Amelia Earhart opens at my local cinema on 10 December and I’m keen to see it. Hilary Swank who plays Aerhart says, “Amelia was an extraordinary, extraordinary woman—and so ahead of her time. She made no apologies for being the strong woman that she was, or living her life the way she wanted.” Sounds like my kind of woman!
Any one seen the movie? Or read a book with a strong, compelling heroine lately?
________
Callum Ironstone didn't do guilt. Even so, the millionaire did feel responsible enough for struggling chef Miranda Owen to offer her a job. She could cater his holiday dinner party...an important affair where he planned to propose to the appropriate woman. Except somehow he'd ended up with Miranda in his bed. He tried to blame it on the mistletoe. But Callum knew Miranda's transformation from dowdy wallflower to sensual beauty had hit him right where it counted. Perhaps she could be made into the hostess his position demanded...provided Miranda forgave him for destroying her family...
Buy: Millionaire Under the Mistletoe
___________
Callum halted at the threshold, his attention riveted on the woman pacing in front of the reception desk. The slanting rays from a lofty skylight caught her hair and turned it into a nimbus of glowing gold.
He took a step forward.
"Callum Ironstone demanded my presence here at three o'clock." She cocked her wrist and glanced at a serviceable watch. "It's already ten past. How much longer does he intend to keep me cooling my heels?" Her husky voice held an edge of impatience.
Callum stilled as her words penetrated. This was Miranda Owen?
Not possible.
His gaze tracked up from slender ankles encased in sheer black hose along the sleek lines of the narrow black, hip-hugging skirt. A black polo-neck sweater emphasized the indent of her waist and a saffron-colored coat hung over her arm.
Callum stared.
Digging deep into his memories produced an image of a plump teenager, more at home in a baggy sweatshirt, jeans and muddied yellow Wellingtons. The sunlit locks held no resemblance to the long, untidy ponytail. No doubt the braces were gone, too.
He cleared his throat.
She spun around. Wide caramel-brown eyes met his. His stomach tightened as he took in the lambent hostility.
One thing hadn't changed. Miranda Owen still blamed him for her father's death.
Callum didn't let the knowledge show as he crossed the marble tiles, toasty from the state-of-the-art under-floor heating system. "Miranda, thank you for coming in."
"Callum."
That one snapped-out word hinted at long-held resentments.
He stretched out a hand. For a moment he thought she was going to refuse to take it. Then with a small sigh she relented.
Her fingers were strong, her grip firm, yet her skin was soft against his. Before he could come to terms with the interesting dichotomy of her touch, she pulled away.
"Why did you want to see me?"
A woman who got straight to the point—he liked that. Callum shook himself free of the bemusement that this grown-up Miranda evoked. "Let's talk in my office. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
A picture flickered across his mind of a three-year-younger Miranda spooning several teaspoons of sugar into a cup of hot chocolate at her father's funeral.
"No, thanks." Her reply was clipped.
He glanced across to the receptionist. "Bring Ms. Owen a hot chocolate and I'll have coffee. Bring some extra sugar," he tacked on before placing his hand under Miranda's elbow and steering her along the corridor and into his spacious office.
"I'm not a child." She slanted him a look from beneath ridiculously long lashes, and a frisson of awareness startled Callum. "And I no longer drink chocolate."
"I can see you're not a child," Callum drawled, giving her a slow, sweeping perusal. "You've changed."
"You haven't." Miranda broke free of his hold and stepped away.
Still truculent. The heat of desire receded. "Maybe I'm mistaken," he mused. "I'd gotten the notion you'd grown up."
Chagrin filled her face. "I'm sorry."
Callum doubted she regretted her lack of courtesy. Yet when her gaze met his again, he read apprehension in the wide eyes. What was she frightened about? Even as he watched, she straightened her spine and the moment of vulnerability vanished.
He waved to the two boxy leather sofas facing each other under an immense wooden bookshelf packed with books. A tall Christmas tree covered with red bows and silver balls reminded Callum that it was the season of reconciliation. But Miranda's frozen face warned him that reconciliation was the last thing on her mind. And how could he blame her? Feeling carefully for words, he said, "Look, let's start over."
Ignoring him, Miranda passed the cozy seating arrangement heading for a round walnut conference table beside a wall of glass, where she slung her coat and black bag over the closest of the four chairs in a militant fashion.
Okay, so she was going to play this tough, all business. Callum gave a mental shrug and seated himself opposite her. "I asked you to come in because I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition?" Confusion clouded her features. "For me?"
He rocked his chair back. "You're a chef, right?" Hell, he knew she was—he'd paid for every cent of her exclusive training. Though he'd been surprised to learn she'd used her qualifications to gain employment at a popular pub chain rather than some fashionable, upmarket cafe or boutique hotel. Before she could question how he knew she was a chef, he added, "Adrian told me you work at one of The Golden Goose outlets."
He'd stopped to inquire how young Adrian was getting along as a temporary driver for the company. The young man had been grateful for the vacation job and had revealed that Miranda dreamed of one day starting her own catering business. That had given Callum the perfect solution... a way to wipe Miranda Owen from his conscience forever. He gave her his most charming grin.
"Yes," she said guardedly.
She certainly wasn't blowing him away with an effusive response. Tipping his chair back to earth, he leaned forward and planted his elbows on the conference table. "Here's the deal. I plan to invite the outgoing chairman of a company Ironstone Insurance has recently taken over to a private dinner party at my home on Saturday night."
"He'll come?"
"Oh, yes. Gordon's staying on as a shareholder and I want to introduce him to the other directors. It's a celebration."
The melting brown eyes hardened. "I suppose that makes sense. Your brothers will want to get on side with a significant shareholder."
Callum stopped smiling. The merger had been his initiative—a successful one that would give Ironstone Insurance a strategic advantage over their competitors for years to come. And Gordon Harris had been even hungrier for the merger than the Ironstone family. Gordon wanted to retire, to take it easy. But Miranda's words stopped Callum from confessing that there was another, more celebratory reason for the dinner. That would only lead to a dig about protecting his assets.
Two fine lines furrowed her brow. "When you say Saturday...do you mean this week?" At his nod the lines deepened. "That doesn't leave much time."
He'd intended to railroad her into agreeing... and not leave any time for second thoughts.
"You don't think you can do it?" he challenged.
Angry fire kindled in the caramel eyes. "How many people?"
Hiding a grin of triumph, Callum rose to his feet and retrieved a manila folder from the polished expanse of his desk. Returning to the conference table, he dropped the file in front of her. "The details are all in there."
If he could start Miranda on the road to success, introduce her to some people, perhaps he'd be able to forget the hatred a pair of eighteen-year-old eyes had once held....
Or at least that had been the plan.
But having met Miranda again, he had a suspicion it wasn't going to be nearly that simple.
Standing behind her, all too conscious of the subtle fragrance of warm vanilla she exuded, Callum watched her elegant fingers flip the file open to the first page of the agreement his PA had prepared. Her shoulders stiffened as she read the figure he proposed to pay for a one-night job.
Satisfaction swept through him. She wouldn't refuse. His offer was too good. Helping Miranda get started in a business that must presently be nothing more than an impossible dream would be the perfect way to excise the disturbing memory of the wild accusations she'd flung at him.
You killed my father.
Of course he knew he hadn't, didn't he? Thomas Owen had killed himself once he realized there would be a trial—where he would almost certainly be found guilty on the overwhelming evidence against him. The courts showed no mercy against employees who stole from their employers. Thomas Owen would have known he was facing prison.
Yet Thomas's suicide had shaken Callum more than he cared to admit, leaving him haunted by a long shadow of guilt.
A legacy that he was determined to shake.
The black-and-white print on the paper in front of her blurred. Miranda was no longer aware of the maplewood furniture, or Callum's spacious office. Instead she experienced again the hot ball of misery that had burned constantly in her chest from the moment her father's PA had called with the news of her father's arrest.
Impossible.
But her father's assistant had insisted it was true: the police had been, and had taken her father away. Miranda needed to get hold of her mother urgently. Callum Ironstone would be issuing a press statement soon.
At barely eighteen, Miranda's first sighting of Callum Ironstone on television had swung rapidly from interest in the handsome devil with dark hair, a sensual mouth and eyes that held a mesmerizing intensity, to hatred when she'd heard what he had to say. The press statement had been brief but damning.
All of it lies. By the time it came to an end, Miranda was numb with disbelief.
There had been a mistake. Yet Callum Ironstone clearly didn't believe that. Rage had set in. Her father was not a thief.
Her father was granted bail, and emerged from the courthouse pale, shaken, but determined to clear his name. He had done nothing to justify the indignity the Ironstones had heaped upon him after two decades loyal service. Miranda had been confident it would all be sorted out.
But what followed had been traumatic. And, in the end, Thomas Owen simply gave up. Miranda could still remember the set, serious face of the policewoman who'd knocked on the door to break the news that her father was dead.
Then came the funeral. Miranda's hands grew clammy and nerves fluttered in her stomach at the memory of the last terrible occasion she'd seen Callum Ironstone—it still made her cringe. Devastated by her father's death, her white-hot hatred boiling over, she'd confronted him in the stone-walled forecourt of the church.
The men beside him moved to cut her off. But she barged past them. Standing in front of Callum, she inspected him with angry eyes. "How could you take a good man's life and destroy it?" she'd challenged.
His jaw had set, and his face had grown harder than the marble tombstones in the churchyard. "He stole money from me."
"So you decided to teach him a lesson and humiliate him?"
A flush seared his carved cheekbones.
A man who resembled Callum—a brother perhaps—stepped forward. "Wait a minute, young lady—"
She brushed him aside, focusing all her emotion on Callum. "You killed him. You know that?" Tears of rage and pain spilled onto her cheeks. "He worked for you for twenty years, you gave him a gold watch, yet you never gave him a chance?"
Her father had been given no opportunity to avow his innocence. Callum had relentlessly pushed the police to the conclusion he'd wanted.
"You're overwrought," he said dismissively.
That made the ball of anger swell inside her. "And what's going to happen to my mother, my brother?" Me? "Now that you've destroyed our family?"
Callum gave her a stony stare. He raised a dark, devilish eyebrow and asked sardonically, "Finished?"
She hadn't been. Not by a long shot. But before she could vent any more he'd cut her off, snapping "Grow up" in a supercilious, condescending way that made her feel childishly inadequate.
Callum's words had been unkindly prophetic. She'd had to grow up, and quickly. Much as Miranda loved her mother, she knew Flo could never be practical. Overnight Miranda had become the adult in the home. There'd been no choice.
And now that same man was trying offer her money. A bribe?
"No."
Miranda felt Callum Ironstone start as she spoke. The sensitive skin of her nape prickled. A moment later a pair of bright blue eyes glared down at her. She'd never noticed their color before.
"What do you mean 'No'?"
Closing the folder with a snap, Miranda slammed it down against the glossy wood. "I mean I have no intention of accepting your blood money."
"Blood money?" he said softly, dangerously, and his gaze narrowed to an intimidating glitter.
She refused to be cowed. "Yes, blood money for what you did to my father."
"Your father stole from Ironstone Insurance."
Miranda shook her head. "You got the wrong man."
"Give me strength." Callum made a sharp, impatient sound. "You're not a child anymore."
"Stop it!" She put her hands over her ears.
Blue eyes bored into hers.
Feeling foolish, like the immature child he'd accused her of being almost three years ago, she uncovered her ears and dropped her hands out of his line of sight into her lap and curled them into fists.
With hard-won composure, Miranda said, "I'm sure being wealthy beyond belief means you've gotten used to throwing money around to make all your problems go away. But not this time. I won't take a cent."
His jaw had hardened. A shiver closely allied to fear feathered down her spine as he bit out, "Don't you think it's rather late for fine principles?"
Miranda stared at him blankly. "What do you mean?"
"You've conveniently forgotten?"
"Forgotten what?"
His lips compressed into an impatient line. "Taking money from me."
"That's a lie—I've never taken a cent from you." She'd die of starvation before she did that.
_____________
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November 29th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Artist, Book Review, Category, France, Friends, Gentry, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Spinster, Travel, Virgin Heroine
This was one of those books where I had to slug my way through it. I don’t know why I had to slug but I did. I started and stopped this three times and finally finished it. Woohoo. I feel very accomplished.
One of the parts about this book that bothers me is that it’s first cousin romance. I’m not sure why this had to be the case. They grew up for the most part away from each other – so could they not have been childhood friends or perfect strangers? I suppose it is historically accurate as first cousin marriages took place among royalty of the time so why not the gentry, but it was more than a bit off putting.
Elinor is a dowdy bluestocking spinster. She acts as her mother’s secretary and artist as a way to escape the endless parade of pointless ballroom attendance. On a trip in France to study religious houses Elinor runs into Theo Ravenhurst. At first she doesn’t recognize him as her cousin, but pretty quickly that is sorted out.
As the two fight attraction, Theo is on a mission to recover an artifact that he purchased from a late Duke in the area. Theo manages to get himself, Elinor, and her mother invited to the new Duke’s chateau and conducts midnight searches. A near brush with death and subsequent flight throw the two into a night of wild passion but of course everything between them is so screwed up they only hear the words the other is saying not the meaning.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: The Disgraceful Mr. Ravenhurst
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November 21st, 2009 — 1.5 Stars, Book Review, Business, Category, Contemporary, Gentry, Interracial, Love Triangle, Marriage of Convenience, Ranching, Rape/Abuse, S-U, South America, Virgin Heroine
MOC + second suitor + jealousy = win! Or… maybe not.
When a tour mixes up dates, Lian is stranded in Argentina with a minimum of Spanish. She takes a job as a hostess at a club only to find to her horror that a hostess is really just a polite word for prostitute. Help comes in the way of Ricardo who tells the owner and a client that Lian is his already for the night. He then proceeds to get her out of there and off to the nice hotel where he is staying.
His help come at a price. Lian must agree to a marriage of convenience or he’ll send her back to the club. Lian chooses marriage. Ricardo reveals he was bluffing. They marry and set off to his smallish plantation with a pit stop at the wedding of his half brother Carlos to prove he was wed first and retains all legal rights to the plantation.
Things progress semi-normally, at least for what one can expect from an older Harlequin. Then a acquaintance of Ricardo’s shows up. Lian is a little too friendly with Grant and earns a fierce rebuke from Ricardo. She defies him and maintains her overly friendly ways all the while attempting to figure out how to escape her MOC. When Grant suggests flight for the 8th time she agrees and off they go.
Ricardo tracks them down. Detains Grant and forces Lian back home where he proceeds to forcefully claim all his marital rights and tack on a required male heir stipulation before he’ll set her free. Martial rape… again. Why is this a consistent theme in older Harlequins/romances in general? Is this the only way a man is capable of sharing his “feelings” until the heroine cracks and says “I love you!”? Let me repeat this once again… rape is not romantic.
One of the better things in this novel was when the heroine rescued the hero at the end of the novel. The ending high is very nice.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
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November 10th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Big Misunderstanding, Category, Comedy of Manners, Contemporary, G-I, Greece, Love Triangle, Mistaken Identity, Science, Teacher, Writer
This category romance would make a great farcical romantic comedy movie. Just keep reading and you’ll know what I mean.
The Bryants – Jane (heroine), Guy (brother)
The Dysons – Stuart (fiancé), Pauline (future sister-in-law)
Two pairs of brother and sister pretend to be married to each other in order to land a job on an archaeological site in Greece. The heroine is engaged to the brother of the other pair. Her future sister-in-law crushes hard on the site’s leading archaeologist. The dig boss and hero fights falling in love with the heroine. The only supposedly single man on the site falls hard for the future sister-in-law. The only one not romantically inclined is the brother of the heroine.
Sounds crazy? It was!
The hero, Dr. Nikolas Vallas, hates adulterers. He rides hard on the heroine, Jane Bryant, who he sees as the worse of the lot. Guy is either clueless to his wife’s behavior or doesn’t have the masculinity to reign her in or divorce her. Pauline is a creature to pity as she’s utterly clueless to her husband and best friend’s deception. Stuart is a cheating bastard. But Jane--- she takes the cake. She cheats on her husband, with her best friend’s husband, and the son of his long time friend, Tim.
Tim figures out the deception and what Nikolas perceives as more acts of adultery is in fact very innocent. Tim is using Jane as a sounding board for his attempts to win Pauline’s affections. Pauline however is mooning over Nikolas and doesn’t like Tim’s attention one bit. Jane meanwhile is reeling from something Tim said about love. He said something along the lines of “If you’re really in love, you couldn’t wait to be married.” Jane finds herself falling in love with a man who hates everything about her and seems to be falling in love with Pauline.
Petals Drifting is a very erroneous title for the plot. They’re there in the off season for tourists. It’s not fall. It’s more like spring. Anyway, the story is very tense, very quick, and solid. I devoured it.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Petals Drifting
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