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Devon Interlude Vintage Romance by Kay Thorpe

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Kay Thorpe’s Harlequin Romances have bossy men and ladies who stand up for themselves most of the time. Devon Interlude is one of the earliest novels she wrote for Harlequin, published in 1968, and it is a pleasant, easy to read story which, yes, does have her usual bossy guy and non-doormat girl.

After her play folds actress Gail goes to her brother’s home, an inn he is trying to make a go of, in rural Devon. Her brother and his wife had helped her to get started as an actress and Gail is aware she owes them big time and feels guilty because she let the odd letter substitute for visits. In fact her brother has been very ill but didn’t want to worry Gail so she does not know.

In typical Harlequin fashion the first person Gail meets on her way home is her bother’s best friend Mark, who makes no bones about his contempt for her. He accuses her of coming only to get more money from brother Steve, tries to shame her for being uncaring and distant and offers a check, presumably so she won’t bother Steve and wife Carol. Gail is furious with Mark but is honest enough to admit she has been at fault not coming to visit or even to do much to keep in touch with Steve and Carol.

Steve and Carol’s inn is not doing well. They are “foreigners”, outsiders to the closed neighborhood and the locals don’t patronize the inn nor are they able to get tourist traffic. Gail takes responsibility to find them much increased custom when she makes a deal with a tour bus operator in a nearby town. He will bring people to see a local attraction, then stop at the inn for dinner or drinks. This works great and Steve and Carol are pleased and happy their financial situation might improve.

Gail works evenings at the inn and meets a couple younger men who suggest she get involved with the local drama club which they claim is significantly better than the average amateur group. She is a little reluctant but agrees to step in when the lady playing the lead in the play they are rehearsing has to quit. She is impressed with the script and quality of the acting but nearly quits when she realizes that Mark is directing the play.

Mark apologizes for offering her the check and Gail agrees to start fresh with him. They go to the beach and spend time together and Gail realizes she is nearly over the infatuation she had with Paul, an actor she worked with several years. She’s not quite ready to fall for Mark though.

Right about this time Sandra, a neighbor makes it clear she’s targeting Mark and Paul shows up to try and convince Gail to go with him and an acting company to tour Australia. Gail realizes she’s quite happy away from the theater but doesn’t want to stick around and see Sandra and Mark get married. The next thing that happens is that the man who plays the lead opposite Gail in the play gets ill and Mark steps in. Gail delivers a passionate and truthful love avowal in the opening night performance and Mark and she both admit their love and agree to marry.

The conflicts in Devon Interlude are understated. Gail isn’t terribly emotional nor does she brood about Mark or Paul or Sandra. She is slow to realize she is falling in love with Mark – she’s a little afraid since she has just realized she never really loved Paul and doesn’t want to make another mistake. As she’s facing up to her heart she sees Sandra and thinks she cannot compete. Sandra isn’t obviously nasty, unlike some Other Women in later romances, but she is clear that Mark is hers and that Gail is no competition. Neither girl seems to realize that Mark is going to decide Mark’s future!

The family relationships between Steve, Carol and Gail are well done with a light touch that shows how much each values the others without having Gail wallow in guilt. Mark too has some family issues (don’t we all?) and Gail is surprised to see the animosity between Mark and his father.

Overall Devon Interlude is a happy story without a lot of the usual nastiness we see in some Harlequins. Mark is a reasonable person who willingly admits he was too fast to judge Gail and Gail is willing to admit she neglected her family and that Mark, although he was rude and made vile comments, is willing to find a way to get along with Gail since her brother is his very good friend.

Kay Thorpe is a good writer and this is a good story with people who feel like they could be real.

3 Stars

I got my copy from Thriftbooks and other used book sites and eBay likely will have copies as does Amazon.

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Betrayal in Bali – Intense Romance by Sally Wentworth

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Betrayal in Bali is one of my two or three favorite romance novels and every time I read it I am in awe of the author’s skill with strong emotions. Here Sally Wentworth converts betrayal to love and makes us believe it.

Characters and Plot Synopsis

Gael Markham’s brother in law skids on ice driving her home and hits an oncoming car, killing the two people in the other car. Gael takes the blame for the accident to protect her brother in law from losing his job.

A few weeks later Leo Kane meets Gael at the gallery where she works. He works for an international construction company and is home for a 3 month leave. He takes her to lunch, they date, she falls in love. Leo is older, more experienced, doesn’t show much physical attraction to Gael, nor does he tell her he loves her, yet dates her steadily. One weekend they go sailing and Leo asks her to drive home but she refuses, citing the fact she lost her license after an accident. He presses her on the accident and Gael won’t talk about it, “It’s nothing.” (She still has nightmares about the crash.)

Leo goes on holiday for 5 weeks and Gael realizes she needs to get over him. Then he returns to London and proposes. He will be in Bali to supervise a huge hospital construction project and wants her with him. He says, “I said I would give you a ring” when I get back.

The marry three weeks later just before their flight to Indonesia. Leo acts a little odd, abstracted, lost in thought during dinner when they arrive on Bali. When he comes to her bedroom he viciously tells Gael he won’t consummate the marriage, that he hated having to kiss and touch her, married her only because she killed his fiancée with her drunk driving, that she owes him, that he must have a wife for this job and she can jolly well play the part.

This brutal rejection devastates Gael, she tries to assert her innocence, and demands Leo let her leave. Unfortunately he got a joint passport and she has no money and cannot leave without him. The next day she’s rude to local queen bee Norah, claims she will continue to be rude until Leo lets her go. Leo threatens Gael physically and emotionally in private then turns into Mr. Sweet when they go to Norah’s for dinner, calls her darling, holds her. Gael proposes a bargain with him when they get back home. She will act the company wife for 6 months and Leo will treat her with some basic consideration, let her leave afterwards, then get the marriage annulled. They agree.

Leo continues to treat her with contempt in private, affectionately in public and Gael is emotionally devastated, bored, lonely, barely able to function after parties where Leo pretends to care. She can’t bring herself to socialize with the other wives after Leo rejected her so thoroughly and there is nothing to do, nowhere to go. About a month later she discovers there are bikes on Bali; she asks the servants to sell her camera and buy a bike for her, which allows her freedom to leave the tiny yard and house. She sketches the local scenes and slowly heals from the emotional shock.

About 6 weeks after they arrive in Bali Gael discovers a secluded plantation house on its private beach just a mile from their bungalow and is delighted with the place. Dirk Vanderman, an Australian now returned to Bali, surprises her there and agrees to rent her a room in the house she can use for a studio to paint. They get along great for about 3 weeks, work separately all day, take swim breaks and eat picnic lunches together.

Gael slowly recovers her confidence and joy in life and Leo comments she is eating and looks better, Gael tells him that she has gotten over his betrayal, that he no longer has the power to hurt her. He asks her to accompany him to a country club dinner dance. Gael agrees to go, stating it is only to fulfill her bargain. Leo says it doesn’t have to be like that any more, that he hadn’t realized how much he would hurt her, indicates he’s ready to have a more normal relationship, to stop hating each other. Gael loved Leo intensely and now must either hate or love, she cannot be indifferent and she refuses to love.

Dirk sees her at the dance and the next day talks her into going with him to tour some artist enclaves on Bali. Gael sees Nora, who has never forgiven Gael for snubbing her, and tries to leave unseen instead of greeting her. Of course Norah sees them together and tells Leo. Leo confronts Gael and accuses her of having an affair. He forcibly kisses her and tries to make her admit she hopped into bed with Dirk. Gael denies it, tells him to believe what he wants, she doesn’t really care as she vowed never to let a man touch her after Leo lied and cheated.

The next scene is the emotional turning point. Gael decides she cannot keep going to Dirk’s house to paint any more, even though she knows she will hurt even worse if she quits, bikes over, packs up her painting materials at the plantation house and is nearly ready to leave when Dirk comes and suggests they go swimming one last time. Leo comes as she gets her bikini off the balcony, sees her in her underwear and is enraged, dashes up the stairs. Terrified Gael shouts for Dirk and runs out, still in her underwear and Dirk holds her a second. Leo yells at him to take his hands off his wife. They hit each other and Gael tries to break it up but Leo can’t pull his punch and hits her in the face. She falls down the steps unconscious.

At the hospital Gael is still terrified and refuses to see Leo. Dirk hops through the window to see her and asks her to leave Leo and come to him, that he’s in love with her; Gael replies he’s a wonderful friend, but only a friend and that she can’t leave Leo yet. Leo forces his way to see her, tells her that all his bitterness and anger left when he saw her fall down the stairs, that he wants to try again, to start over as they were in London. Gael says bully for him, but she still lives in her hell and all she wants is to leave.

To us readers it starts looking as though Leo begins to care for Gael. Two weeks earlier he indicated he was no longer fiercely angry with her, that he could begin again, and now, after putting her in the hospital, reiterates this. Gael does not believe him whatsoever. When she leaves hospital Leo takes her out, they spend time together, explore the island, act as a couple. Gael doesn’t trust this and tries to pick fights but Leo works hard to control his temper and reactions, treats her as a wife, forces togetherness. Leo offers Gael the job of to design and select the art display for the new hospital. It’s a dream job that she is reluctant to accept.

They attend an evening coming of age ceremony for their servants’ son. Afterwards Leo says he’s fallen in love with Gael. She’s indignant, accuses him of saying that only because people suspect he beat her up, doesn’t believe him. She can’t resist the job though and is happy doing what she loves.

A few evenings later a close lightening strike startles Gael and Leo comes in her room and tries to make love to her. She responds momentarily then shoves him away, stumbles across the room to get away. He says he’ll leave her alone that night, but that they will make love soon because she wants it too.

The entire island is as tense as Gael and Leo. The rains are late, people are nervous about the political situation and unrest and unemployment. There is a small riot that blows up the propane storage at the hospital construction site that frightens Gael. She’s getting ready to ride her bike over to see what’s going on when their servant Kartini asks her to help to get medical attention for their son, shot in the riot. Gael gets a driver and car from the hospital and goes with Kartini to pick up the boy. During all this the monsoons start and everyone and everything, including the car’s spark plugs, are drenched and muddy. She gets out several times on the short drive to move big sticks, stands in the mud to push the car and finally manages to get to Kartini’s home, pick up the boy, get the car to start up again (remember, 1980 cars weren’t as robust as today’s), and gets halfway back when they almost plow into a big tree that blocks the road. She and Kartini’s husband get out to chop off branches so they can remove the tree. They hear a car and go hide in the jungle.

Leo is driving the car, looking for Gael. He and she meet and he takes Kartini’s family to the hospital then takes Gael home and into the shower and into bed. Gael tells him then that she was not the driver in the accident that killed his fiancée, and he apologizes again. We leave as they begin to make love.

Why Betrayal In Bali Works

Gael is neither pushy nor a pushover. She recognizes how devastated Leo is from losing his fiancée and she even understand why he wants to punish her for it and force her to stay with him so he can keep his job. She might have agreed to stay as recompense had she truly caused Julia’s death but as it was she vehemently denied Leo had any right to lie and cheat and was adamant that she would learn to stop feeling hurt.

Gael is blunt, says what she means and states how she feels. When Leo courts her in London Gael is completely open about her feelings. After being gone 5 weeks Leo tells her he will leave for 3 years in Bali in just a few weeks. Gael doesn’t – can’t – hide how she feels. In Bali she tells Leo he hurt her.

Gael loves Leo. She truly loves him, not just in London or before he betrays her. She loves him despite how he treats her and that’s why she channels all her heart into hating him. She can’t help respond when he tries to kiss her the night he accuses her of sleeping with Dirk or during the storm or in London or at the ending. She must love or hate Leo, nothing between.

Leo is emotionally complex. Does he love Gael at all before she falls down the stairs? I think so. In London he seems torn between keeping emotional and physical distance and caring. He obviously finds her attractive and the fact she’s in love with him adds to her appeal. Yet he doesn’t want to feel anything for her beyond getting her to Bali helping him. When you think about it, it makes sense he would want her to come act the wife since he must be married for his job and she’s readily available. Yet marrying someone for revenge is incredibly stupid. Buddy, you will be married. Stuck with someone you dislike. Stuck in the same house, stuck living together.

He said he didn’t much care how he got Gael to come with him to Bali. If he had explained the situation would she have come? Maybe. Then we’d have had the typical marriage of convenience novel instead of this one full of emotional passion from betrayal.

Leo says he searched his conscience when he realized how much he hurt Gael. That tells me he’s normally a decent man, and now he has to feel guilty. Does guilt turn into love? Not usually. Guilt might make him treat her better, to try and make something of their marriage, but he has to have some will to love her or some emotional connection to stay the course.

Dirk Vanderman is more than a possible Other Man, he’s a true character in his own right. He is kind to Gael and fun, they get along great without any emotional or physical demands yet he expects Gael to do her best. Gael swims better and further to meet Dirk’s challenge.

Norah is a typical obnoxious Queen Bee. Norah doesn’t like that Gael technically outranks her in the closed European company community because Gael is married to the boss and Norah is not. Norah loves to cut Gael down and make spiteful remarks. Gael simply dislikes Norah. She doesn’t like her snobbishness, her condescending attitudes to the natives, she doesn’t like being patronized or treated as a dope. We’ve probably all known Norah types and they aren’t much fun.

Sally Wentworth makes Bali as a setting come alive. This is not a travelogue Harlequin Presents. Wentworth describes the flowers and the beach and the heat and the tiny homes in small villages and the children without making the place as important as the characters. She keeps Bali as the setting, important to the story since we must understand how constrained Gael feels when trapped in her home and yard. There was a lot of political unrest in Indonesia around 1980 when she published Betrayal in Bali, and Wentworth explains enough to make the riot believable.

Emotional connections are strong. Even without knowing Leo’s feelings we see Gael’s heart and Wentworth masterfully shows how one person connects to another and forms an emotional bond between her characters and us readers. I’m not sure how she does it. I’ve read several books by her that have this bond and I can’t quite see why some books connect so strongly with me and some do not. The common denominator seems to be that I can empathize with Gael in Betrayal in Bali and Genista in Rightful Possession, but not so much with Lyn in The Judas Kiss or Casey in Ultimatum. Those ladies seem more vindictive or controlling, not people I can relate to.

I’m in awe how Sally Wentworth creates characters and stories that convert events that should have and did cause immense emotional devastation into growth and emotional healing and finally into love. She converts betrayal into love in Betrayal in Bali and rape into love with Rightful Possession, and both are believable. Which is incredible when you consider the agony the heroines must feel.

Rating

5 Stars. Betrayal in Bali is one of the best Harlequin Presents novels I have read, believable, emotionally fulfilling, delightful characters, enjoyable.

I read Betrayal in Bali back when it was published – I used to borrow some Harlequin romances from our library. There were six that stuck in my mind for years, although I remembered only snippets. It’s funny that I recalled that Leo blames Gael for the car crash because she took the blame although innocent because I had forgotten the entire rest of the novel, even that it was set in Bali. Sally Wentworth wrote three of those six books I remember 40 years later. Which I think says a lot for the depth of her characterization.

I got my copy from Thriftbooks and you can find used paperback copies on Amazon and many other used book sites or eBay.

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The Spanish Connection – Stereotyped Romance by Kay Thorpe

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I enjoy most Kay Thorpe romances but this one! The Spanish Connection combines all my most-disliked Harlequin Presents attributes.

  • Stereotyped characters. He’s Spanish, rich. He’s arrogant, thinks he’s God’s gift to women, bossy, obnoxious, uncaring. He files suit to take custody of his dead brother’s sons from their mother! That’s pretty low.
  • Our jerky hero is so colossally full of himself that he tells our heroine that men are always superior to women. Oh my, where to start with this one? Can we just take it as read that superiority depends on the individual and the particular area?
  • He declares he intends to “take” her and that it wouldn’t be rape because he is so gorgeous and sexy and and and. By this point, page 50 or so, I was gagging.
  • He expected all women to be docile doormats. (I worked with a lovely lady from Spain who was the furthest thing possible from doormat-hood.)
  • It’s nauseating to stereotype Spanish men the way this novel does.
  • She falls for him sexually right away and they sleep together the second night she’s in his home. Hey lady, get a grip!! He’s manipulative and obnoxious and out for his own agenda. And if you sleep with him you’ll be so confused he can lead you by the nose.

Plus the story itself is unconvincing. I just don’t buy the romance here. Nina is reflexively jealous of Rafael’s wanna-be girlfriend despite events; she simply sees Rafael with her and assumes they are sleeping together. That’s not love, that’s stupidity.

The plot is nuts, the characters don’t feel real. Even Kay Thorpe’s normal good writing can’t salvage this mess.

Feeling generous today.

2 Stars (I’d give it 1 Star except I did finish it and it is Kay Thorpe!)

I read this initially on Hoopla, which you may be able to access via your library. It’s also available in E format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Harlequin.com. Look for paperback copies on these sites plus Thriftbooks.com and eBay. I got a paperback copy in a lot with several other books on eBay so it now clutters up my shelves.

Rightful Possession Romance by Sally Wentworth

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I’m reviewing Rightful Possession because I wanted to understand how Sally Wentworth make the story work when it should not. I’m going to analyze the story events, characters and structure in this long review because Rightful Possession is the essence of a successful Harlequin romance.

5 Stars

The plot here is straightforward but the romance and the story are not. Basic plot is:

  1. Genista is an airline hostess (flight attendant), a job still semi-glamorous in 1978 when Rightful Possession is published. Genista shares a flat with Lynn, her best friend and fellow stewardess.
  2. Genista’s brother Kevin invents stuff but has no money sense. An acquaintance tells him he can get his invention tested but the “friend” says he can’t access his money until tomorrow and can’t Kevin find the cash today and get repaid tomorrow. Kevin embezzles the money from his employer’s payroll, figuring he can repay the money the next day and never hurt anyone. Of course the con man runs off with the cash. Kevin is jailed in Paris after employer files charges.
  3. Genista flies right over to her brother, hears it’s only a small amount of money, goes to see the company owner, Marc. Marc refuses to let her brother off, and when Genista offers repayment herself, explains that Kevin’s “small amount” was 10,000 pounds, an enormous sum, roughly $200,000 in today’s money. Marc tells her to stop wasting his time and Genista loses it, tells him off. (She’s exhausted by this point after working the entire previous day and night.)
  4. Marc offers her a deal. He needs a hostess who understands and can work with international business people, who speaks multiple languages. He’ll marry her in “an almost business deal”, where she shows up to do her wifely duties then fades away until he needs her again. Genista assumes “business deal” means hostess duties, not sleeping with him but Marc means the full wifely shebang.
  5. He insists on Genista replacing her wardrobe with deluxe designer outfits, marries her, then they go to his Greek island for a few days. There they have the major disagreement as to her duties. Marc agrees to give her another day to get used to the idea.
  6. Genista escapes the villa, walks to the small port and gets passage off the island with a fisherman while Marc is out sailing. Unfortunately fisherman can’t leave until evening and Marc discovers she’s gone and manages to catch them in mid-sail, drags her off and drags her to bed.
  7. Genista tries to tell him she’s never slept with a man before but Marc won’t believe it given the reputation stewardesses had (this is about 10 years after the sleazy Coffee Tea or Me?) and rapes her. Once he realizes she told the truth he tries to court her, show her what love can be, but she refuses to respond and he loses patience and rapes her again.
  8. Once Marc’s asleep Genista goes out to the beach, swims out in the bay, gets a cramp and is in danger with tide carrying her out. Marc rescues her and accuses her of trying to drown herself; Genista tells him yes, she’d rather die than spend another night with him. He is horrified.
  9. They go back to his French chateau and she picks up her hostess duties. Marc promises to leave her alone.
  10. Housekeeper Madam Hermant tries to undermine Genista, refuses to take direction on a dinner party, until Genista tosses that aside and insists on taking over. The next parties are great fun and Marc is pleased and Genista begins to enjoy this aspect of her job. Marc is always affectionate at these parties and praises her to his guests, which disgusts Genista because she sees it as hypocrisy.
  11. Marc buys her a diamond bracelet and she has to face facts. She’s stuck with Marc and 5 years is a long time to hate anyone. She lets go of her hate – still dislikes and distrusts him – but decides to make the best of things. This is the major turning point.
  12. Genista discovers she can slip off the watchdog chauffeur by going to the beauty salon and slipping out the back door. She meets up with both Lynn and her brother this way and tells them she had to marry Marc for repayment but doesn’t tell either of them about the rape or how much she detests him.
  13. It helps that Marc’s old friend Ally shows up, pays extravagant compliments and offers her friendship.
  14. Things proceed in a more-or-less normal fashion. Genista enjoys her work and is beginning to see Marc in a better light although she still despises him for raping her and pretending to care about her in public. He’s always cordial in private but reserved. Genista starts to see that they could be reasonably happy together, although the sex part is still a wall between them.
  15. Genista pawns her bracelet to give Kevin money for his invention. Madame Hermant finds out and makes trouble.
  16. Marc takes Genista back to the island where she realizes she’s falling for him. They kiss and he starts to make love to her until she tenses up and he lets her go before going back to the village. She has mixed feelings now, wanting something more than a dreary business relationship but not quite ready to love.
  17. Marc’s former fiancée, Adrienne, shows up. Marc avoids her at parties but Madame Hermant tells Genista that Marc and Adrienne are waiting only for Adrienne’s husband to die before they marry. This puts Genista’s wakening feelings on ice. Marc gets hurt in a polo match and Genista runs to the first aid room where she sees Adrienne and Marc passionately kissing.
  18. Brother Kevin shows up. He sold his invention and can pay back Marc and redeem Genista’s bracelet. Genista has a special party for Marc the next day on a jet, gets her passport and arranges with Lynn to help her get away at the airport. (This is long before the days of strict security and passengers walked on the tarmac.) She leaves her bracelet and cash and bank statements for Marc and gets away. She resumes her stewardess job.
  19. Two months pass and Adrienne’s husband dies. Genista writes Marc’s lawyers to offer her cooperation in a divorce to set Marc free to marry Adrienne. Marc has been chasing around North Africa looking for Genista because he thought she went with Ally, but with the letter he now knows where to find her. He gets on a flight with her and manages to corner her to talk. He reveals he is in love with her and has been.
  20. Happy ever after.

As said, straightforward plot. She yells at him, he coerces her into marriage, forced sex, anger and hate followed slowly by tolerance then liking then finally love, other wannabe woman, escape, finally he finds her and they settle all. So why does Rightful Possession work? And how does Wentworth manage to make the transition from #7, marital rape, to #16, dawning love feel realistic?

The Set Up. Sally Wentworth uses few pages and incidents to set up the situation and introduce the characters then goes right into the story and lets events and people unfold. She makes every event work to advance the plot and the story.

She tells us nothing and shows us everything by actions and dialogue. For example, when Genista escapes the villa she walks several miles over rough country to reach the port, showing us she is determined and not easily cowed. When Marc thinks she is softening towards him he calls her his little love and says how he has been longing and waiting for this. (Of course he says this in French, thank you translation programs!)

We get clues that Marc cares for Genista because he publicly acts to cherish her and he is patient and tolerates her unrelenting hostility. We can’t tell for sure whether he’s just putting on an act, which Genista believes for several months, or whether there is actual caring. Our beliefs mirror Genista’s. At first we see Marc as hypocritical, then as potentially caring for her, then again even more odious after Genista sees him and Adrienne kissing at the polo match. We still wonder, because after all this is a Harlequin and they are supposed to have happy endings, but how will Marc push this one by?

How indeed. Sally Wentworth has created a believable about face for Genista with a loving husband who simply can’t or won’t tell her how he feels. After Marc finds Genista gives the slip to her chauffeur/bodyguard, he tells her that he fears kidnap. Genista says that is silly since he wouldn’t pay a ransom for her. Marc points out that the kidnappers wouldn’t know that but the telltale is that he takes such a violent breath that his cigarette glows bright red.

Handling the difficult part. However do you go from despising and hating the man who forces you – rape – to falling in love with him? Even after re-re-rereading Rightful Possession I’m amazed that Sally Wentworth pulls this off. A few things help make the transition believable.

Wentworth grays out the actual rape; in fact jumps right from Marc draging Genista off the boat to Genista leaving bed to go to the beach. She remembers the aftermath when Marc tried to make up for raping her before once again losing his temper and forcing her. She recalls his at-first tender and caring and remorseful actions and how she was tempted to respond with zero details. (Thank you.) Genista recalls the second time when Marc tried to make love to her in deeds and words with mixed emotions.

Wentworth created Genista as a sympathetic, credible, realistic person. She’s mature and wise enough to realize she cannot go on hating Marc for 5 years, that it will rebound on her as much as on Marc. She doesn’t trust him or believe he is sincere, but she learns to enjoy his company and relax with him.

Ally and others see Marc as a wonderful caring man and eventually Genista “sees him for the first time as a devastatingly charming and handsome man”. When your friends like and respect someone it’s hard to keep seeing only their faults; that gives Genista time to reflect on her hostess job, her time with Marc, Marc himself and face the brutal encounter.

Is this Stockholm syndrome, where a captive tends to sympathize with their captor, even to allying with them? I did not read it that way. Genista stayed with Marc out of a sense of honor, not because of force or emotional maniuplation, she never pities him or sees him as a victim, she make a conscious decision to stop hating him. She was never ignorant of his faults nor did she have bad feelings towards people who wanted to help her leave. When Lynn offers to help her Genista considers it but stays only because shes feels obligated to repay Kevin’s debt not because she likes Marc or wants to be with him or feels sympathy for him.

Stockholm victims tend to emotionally align to their abuser, to appease them, to behave to the abuser’s requirements. Genista never stops being free in her mind and she continually escapes via the hairdresser dodge to spend time as she pleases. After the first horrorible night together Genista never sees herself as a victim, and once Marc promises to leave her alone she stops feeling any self-pity. Once Kevin can pays his debt she is joyous, she can be free.

Using the story and plot together. Given the story is the people and the plot the actions, Wentworth weaves these together so one props up the other and both are stronger. Marc’s actions – leaving Genista alone, buying her a beautiful bracelet as a gift, praising her to his friends, relinquishing her to Ally’s care, having fun together, spending time together, endless courtesy – come through as caring. We see him through Genista’s eyes and how she responds to his actions and the attitude she infers to him.

It sounds simple to combine story and plot but few authors do so successfully in any genre. Perhaps it’s easier in romance where readers expect a plot to move along a more-or-less predetermined arc, because instead of seeing conventions as a straightjacket, authors can use them for the skeleton and spend their energy building muscles and blood. Wentworth has written several other excellent romances where she uses similar approach, notably Betrayal in Bali, letting the standard plot be the template and using her imagination and skill to fill it in and create a believable, excellent novel.

The Characters Genista, Marc and Ally are three-dimensional, well-developed people. Often authors sketch the secondary characters and do little more even with the two protagonists, but Wentworth makes us see them as individuals. Wentworth lets the plot and dialogue do the work to exposit the characters; there are few inner musings or “well, here’s what happened when I was six” discussions.

It’s easy to identify with Genista, a woman trapped in a nightmare marriage, who manages to step beyond the horrible events and turn her marriage into something worthwhile that she and Marc enjoy.

Genista realizes that she can choose how she responds to Marc, how she thinks about and faces up to the fact husband raped her. She does not hide her head in the sand or pretend it’s not deadly serious, a terrifying, horrible thing, but she is adult and makes her choice to at least tolerate Marc and try to make something out of her enforced marriage.

Immediacy Sally Wentworth makes us feel like we are right there, part of the action, not watching a play. A couple of my favorite romance authors do this very well. Wentworth makes this happen here and it helps us thaw along with Genista and to turn what was originally 5 years of hateful intimacy with a man she detests into a tolerable, sometimes enjoyable life and friendship and later into love.

Wentworth avoided common plot tropes. Genista does not get pregnant, she does not run away, instead leaves only when she can pay the debt, Other Woman Adrienne does not visit Genista to gloat and threaten, no one dies, Genista is happy that her prior boyfriend is marrying her best friend, no one gets clunked on the head and loses their memory. I was slightly surprised that she did not get pregnant from her one night with Marc and believe that made for a much stronger story. Wentworth was able to pare the story down to Marc or no Marc, love or hate.

Was the govel sufficient to justify a happy ever after? Marc laid his heart on the line when he took Genista to the hotel and he made it clear he was horrified that his actions drove her to attempt suicide (as he thought it). He never really apologized although he did make it clear he regretted trying to force her, realized it backfired then and would backfire every time. Is that a sufficient grovel? That’s up to you. I would have liked more and stronger regrets.

Summary Even after reading Rightful Possession several times I’m in awe at how Sally Wentworth made Genista’s transition from victim to loving wife seem so real. I’m even more in awe that she made the conversion from rape to love feel real.

A Cinderella for the Greek – Julia James Light Romance

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If you are in the mood for a light, almost frothy romance, try A Cinderella for the Greek by Julia James. (Paid link) It is mostly enjoyable but not a story that will move you or will linger in your mind.

Ellen is tall, rather large-boned and teaches gym to a local school. Her father died a year ago and she has been busy fending off his greedy widow – her stepmother – and her equally greedy stepsister. Both disparage her, call her names, mock her, all the usual Cinderella treatment. They went through her rich father’s money and now all that is left is their valuable English manor home, and some of the remaining art and antiques. The two are shameless, stealing even Ellen’s jewelry.

Max develops property and tours the house, thinking to purchase it as an investment, but realizes when he arrives that this could be a home. The steps encourage him and do not tell him that they own only two thirds of the house. Ellen cooks and serves lunch, then corners Max to say she owns a third and will not sell. This is her home.

The steps claim Ellen has never accepted them and refuses to sell just for spite. Max discovers Ellen is not fat but incredibly in shape, an athlete and decides to sweep her off to London for a makeover and a ball. (See where the Cinderella title comes in?) Things progress from there. Ellen and Max hit it off and spend a few weeks together travelling, enjoying each other’s company and sleeping together.

Max tells her he did all this to show her that there is life beyond her home and to entice her to sell to him. He is not being entirely truthful of course because he also has fallen in love. He asks her to buy out her steps and she explains that she has no money, that they took everything, spent an enormous fortune before her dad died and now are ghoulishly stripping everything left. Max is dumbfounded. Ellen leaves. She later decides Max was right and agrees to sell. When she arrives to sign her sales agreement Max surprises her and proposes for a happy ever after.

A Cinderella for the Greek could have explored the stepmother/sister resentment or why Ellen was such a doormat that she even allowed stepsister to appropriate her pearl bracelet. It does not. Author Julia James lays out the situation and proceeds to tell the story straightforward, giving us plenty of Max’s viewpoints to show us how he thinks Ellen is and how he wants her to be.

Overall this is a light, enjoyable story but not one I could recall even the day after I read it. Max is the best character, interesting, willing to help, manipulative, kind, loving, certain he is right and knows everything, self-confident. Ellen is more two-dimensional, not a fully-realized person and the steps are stock characters.

I did appreciate that the “Greek” in the title refers to Max having a Greek father. For a nice change we don’t get all the heavy-handed, heavy breathing me-boss/you-female nonsense that too many Harlequins offer.

2 Stars

I purchased my copy from Harlequin.com to read via Glose E reader. Amazon and Barnes and Noble both offer E versions and you can purchase paper copies new from all three retailers or check eBay and Thriftbooks for used copies. There is a comic version too. All Amazon links are paid ads.

Bought with His Name – Penny Jordan Harlequin Presents

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If you like romances about nasty guys and stiff-spine ladies with soft spots for their friends, then you will like Bought with His Name (paid link) by Penny Jordan. Unlike many Penny Jordan heroines, Genista is well off, attractive, self-confident most of the time. What she does suffer from is a too-strong adherence to friends and an even stronger dislike of rude, arrogant men.

Gen meets Luke at a party where he is over the top taken with her while she is both attracted and repelled by his handsome arrogance. She flirts and more or less leads him on until she’s ready to leave, at which time she turns him down flat in front of others. That was her little way to get her own back for all the icky stuck up creeps out there! Sadly, he’s not taking no for an answer and follows her home, tries to force her to let him into her apartment before she outwits him. Gen thinks that’s the last she’ll see of this obnoxious guy until the next morning when she finds he owns the company where she works. Luke thinks she’s having an affair with Bob, her boss and good friend.

Gen is ready to resign until Bob confides his wife Elain faces breast cancer. Luke cons her into going on a supposed business trip with him where he blackmails her into marrying him by saying he’ll tell Elaine that Gen and Bob are having an affair. Gen really doesn’t want him upsetting Elaine (who is also her friend) so she goes along with it. Of course that night Luke realizes she’s a virgin, but he keeps on pushing the “I’m going to tell Elaine” button to keep Gen.

We have the requisite Other Woman, who is finishing with Luke’s married brother and now turning back to Luke. Then Gen realizes she’s pregnant, decides to leave, gets into a car accident, goes back to Luke’s home to recover and Luke says he’s ready to break up. She’s waiting for the taxi to take her back to her own life when Luke comes in, confesses undying love and has a ready to hand explanation for the Other Woman.

Wow! That’s some plot! Now let’s look at the story here.

For some reason Luke simply cannot believe Gen is not having an affair with Bob. His friend told him so and it’s obvious that Bob and Gen are good friends and of course Gen cares enough about Bob and Elaine that Luke can blackmail her. But there is no obvious reason that Luke should continue to believe this over a couple months. Bob brings some papers to Luke’s home and stays to talk to Gen – of course Luke walks in – but Jordan doesn’t describe one incident that would give credence to the Gen/Luke affair. Luke simply won’t accept that Gen hasn’t fallen for him and uses the supposed affair to explain that to himself. Gen denies it but Luke keeps interrupting her to put his own interpretation on her.

Gen is harder to understand. I understand and applaud wanting to keep a sick woman free from worry but there really wasn’t a good reason for Gen to not tell Luke the situation, that she didn’t want to upset Elaine especially with a pack of lies about a non-existent affair. Gen says that it isn’t her place to tell Luke this, but who in their right mind would accept marriage to avoid divulging something private? Gen must have been more intrigued with Luke than she realized or than author Jordan lets us see.

Luke is weak in some ways. He doesn’t accept that he made a mistake about Gen, instead gets angry with her for not telling him she is a virgin and hasn’t been sleeping with Bob. He yells at her for deceiving him, even worse than the usual Harlequin Presents stuck up guy behavior!

After a month or so Gen realizes she’s falling for Luke. I’m always skeptical about the forced seduction to love conversion – either there was some element of love initially or the guy really went above and beyond to court the girl later – and Bought with His Name doesn’t remove my skepticism. Luke is dynamic, interesting, an excellent lover but he’s cruel, hurtful, distrusting. She falls for him within days of marrying him, and how could that happen? Luke accuses her of wishing he were Bob every time they make love, every time they talk. He does almost nothing to change her mind or emotions.

Penny Jordan tells intense stories that usually go so fast that the gaps in emotional reality fly right by. She is just as intense in Bought with His Name but with Luke constantly throwing Bob in Gen’s face we get dashed with the cold water of reality too often and because of it, Bought with His Name is simply not plausible or as good as other Penny Jordan romances. I originally gave this 4 stars but after re-reading to write this review all my little niggling concerns about the romance are still here and the romance has too many holes to be compelling.

3 Stars

I purchased a paperback copy from Thriftbooks and you can find copies on eBay. Read the pdf from Archive.org. Amazon has a Kindle version combined with The Sicilian’s Bought Bride by Carol Marinelli into one E volume or you can purchase the same E book from Harlequin to read via Glose.

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Count Valieri’s Prisoner by Sara Craven Harlequin Presents

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Oh boy. You know the author is good when you read right by the idiotic plot because you care about the characters. Count Valieri’s Prisoner (#ad) is the story of (surprise!) Andrea, Count Valieri, an Italian businessman, and Madeline Lang, an English researcher for a television company. Madeline is engaged to Jeremy Sylvester, an up and coming man with a driven autocrat for a father. Andrea detests and despises Jeremy’s father and wants to use Madeline as leverage to force him to document how he framed Andrea’s father for embezzlement. Andrea uses the bait of a soprano who suddenly stepped away from music to entice Maddie to Italy where he holds her in his mansion.

At this point you are rolling your eyes and thinking Melodrama! Stockholm Syndrome! Inane Plot! but don’t. Hold your fire and read this. Count Valieri’s Prisoner (#ad)is very good!

First Maddie is no whiny Wilma. She’s tough and uncompromising with Andrea at first, tells him that eventually he’ll have to let her go and then she’ll press criminal charges. She knows that Jeremy’s dad won’t pay a penny for her release, and since Jeremy himself has no money she tells the Count he’s not going to get anything he wants out of this, only a world of hurt when the police arrest him.

The Count holds her in a bedroom with trompe l’oeil scenes and doors that confuse and disorient her and he hid her clothes, leaving her nightgowns and robes to wear. Her room is in a high story so escape is difficult. Nonetheless Maddie persists and manages to get to an abandoned village where – guess who! – is waiting for her. She has encountered a big snake and a wolf by then so Andrea looks pretty good in comparison.

Andrea and Maddie develop first a reluctant friendship, then a type of love for each other, but both are tiptoeing around the fringes of emotion when Andrea takes Maddie to meet his mother. Mom is the singer Maddie came to Italy to interview; Mom is also the lady who’s first husband – Jeremy’s dad – betrayed. Needless to say, Mom isn’t too happy with Jeremy’s family and although she likes Maddie, she and Andrea suspect Maddie is as bad as the family she intends to marry into.

Eventually Andrea convinces Jeremy’s dad that he has incriminating documents and unless dear old dad confesses all in writing and gives up his expected knighthood, Andrea will release everything. Dad complies and sends a toad flunky to bring the papers and get the girl. Maddy takes one look at Toad and decides to make her own way home.

By the last week of her imprisonment Maddie agrees Andrea is justified and once past that hurdle she allows herself to feel the emotional connection and physical attraction that flows between them. However, Maddie is still engaged to Jeremy and still convinced she loves him and will marry him, faith sorely tested when Toad arrives, not Jeremy. She is dumbfounded when Andrea pushes her away to go back to England and he never acknowledges the emotional connection she feels so strongly. She leaves.

It is only when she’s back home she sees Jeremy again and this time he’s pressuring her to marry now, at once. And his mother, who is going to be the mother-in-law from hell, has told the dressmaker to finish the wedding gown NOW. By now Maddie is confused. She believes Andrea. Maddie’s getting suspicious about Jeremy and she’s wondering how much he loves her when he never tried to come to her, and she’s wondering how much she loves him if she could fall for Andrea. She visits future mother-in-law and learns that Jeremy isn’t just a passive dupe with his dad, but a real, bona fide contributing partner and he knows all about the corruption and theft years ago. And it doesn’t bother Jeremy a bit.

Now poor Maddie is in a bad spot. The Count is gone. He pushed her aside and onto a plane. Jeremy is gone. The man she loved didn’t exist and she cannot love the man he is now. Of course a couple months later the Count comes to London and professes eternal love and they have their happy ending.

Let’s look at this story as story.

  • Plot is ridiculous. Who would kidnap the future daughter-in-law of the man you want to destroy? Anyone else see any flaws with this plan? Especially since it should have been obvious to the Count that father-in-law cared nothing for Maddie and Jeremy was not all that keen either.
  • Setting and clothing choice are gothic. A room with painted doors that don’t open? Satin nightwear?
  • Characters are lively and engaging; I was sympathetic to the Count even before learning why he kidnaps Maddie and of course Maddie makes a great heroine, a girl who wants to run her own life and doesn’t roll over either for Jeremy or Andrea.
  • We feel the emotional connection between Maddie and the Count.
  • Somehow the overall story works. It just does. Yes, the plot is nuts but the combination of goofy plot and great characters and strong emotional interactions makes Count Valieri’s Prisoner another winner from Sara Craven.

4 Stars

I got my Ebook copy from Harlequin.com, reading it on the Glose app. You can get the Kindle Ebook from Amazon and the Nook book from Barnes and Noble too. If you prefer a printed book then look at Barnes and Noble or Amazon or used books from Thriftbooks.com or eBay. All links are paid ads.

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Girl for a Millionaire – Intense Romance by Roberta Leigh

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Wow. Girl for a Millionaire is good! The emotions and plot are complex and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Overall it is a story of faith and the simple question of how much to believe in someone else.

Roberta Leigh gives us not one but two romances. The main story with Laurel and Nicholas builds slowly, starting as two people make a pact to get through a cruise without compromising their principles. They spend time together, have the inevitable lying other woman, pass through a violent scene, separation, misunderstanding and lies, then finally into love. The second romance is sweet, touching and refreshingly normal as Laurel’s doctor friend Lewis falls for Laurel’s 40-something boss Bunty; they court then marry.

Laurel and Nicholas have a difficult road to loving happiness. They meet when Laurel is asked to join a small group of people on Tony Minelli’s yacht; Laurel thinks she’s to chaperone Tony’s girlfriend but Tony and everyone else knows she’s there to um, “entertain” Tony’s guest Nicholas. Laurel doesn’t figure this out until the yacht is well off shore and Tony refuses to return to let her off. Instead she makes friends with Nicholas who is also there under pretense; he wants a contract with Tony and has to be friendly to get it, but he’s not interested in a girl brought onboard for him. They agree to pretend to be romantic in order to keep the other guests from making Laurel miserable or costing Nicholas his contract. The first two days together Nicholas thinks she knew the score and simply chickened out, that she’s welshing on the deal. As he gets to know her they get along great and by the second week of the cruise Nicholas is actively courting Laurel and she’s falling in love.

At Monte Carlo Nicholas and Laurel spend the day the day together happy, then in the evening a lady and her lovely daughter Gillian join them. The girl’s mother tells Laurel that Gillian and Nicholas are engaged, that he is waiting only for his company prospects to improve so he can support the girl. There doesn’t seem any reason to doubt her, so broken hearted, Laurel decides she needs to leave now, to get away from Nicholas before she listens to any more lies. She gets her passport but once more the yacht is moved off the harbor, she needs transport to get back to land and the crewman she asks demands 100 pounds. She has only 10 and decides to borrow from Nicholas.

Now here is where we get into trouble. Laurel doesn’t want to tell Nicholas she’s leaving – pride apparently – and she takes the money, then just as she’s sitting down to write an IOU and farewell note, Nicholas comes in drunk and furious. He got the contract and the crewman told him that Laurel is leaving and that she’s in his cabin stealing his money. (Apparently no one ever closes drapes and he could see through the porthole.) Nicholas furiously tells Laurel that he didn’t think she was a thief but now knows she’s not only a thief but a liar and grabbing her, he’s going to get his back now. They have a knock down fight where he accidentally throws Laurel into the wall before she manages to conk his head with a vase. She comes back to consciousness before Nicholas, gets off the boat and flies back to London. She has a terrible headache and nausea which doesn’t go away.

After months of missteps Laurel and Nicholas clear up their misunderstandings and marry. It’s the path to that understanding that makes Girl for a Millionaire so good.

Both Laurel and Nick have problems with faith. Laurel expects Nick to have faith in her to realize she’s honest and not a thief or sleep around. Nick expects Laurel to have faith that his courtship was honest.

Laurel has three main problems:

  1. Laurel expects Nicholas – if he loves her – to know her well enough to realize her integrity. She forgets they only knew each other for two weeks, and even with love one can have doubts.
  2. She is proud. Laurel lets her pride dictate how she responds when Nicholas says he loves her. Between expecting Nicholas to know her better and being too proud to say anything, Laurel does not tell him why she’s leaving (he’s engaged) and even the next time they meet she still doesn’t tell him.
  3. Laurel believes Nicholas is engaged, thus his courtship was a lie and she thinks she is out of his class.

Nicholas has three main problems:

  1. He expects Laurel to know him well enough to believe he is in earnest when he courts her, and to believe him when he says he loves her. (Same problem as Laurel’s #1!)
  2. He’s got a niggling doubt about Laurel; he loves her, he doesn’t think she’s really a good-time girl or a thief, but finding her with his cash infuriates him.
  3. He’s aggressive. In business this is why he’s on the yacht and in personal affairs it’s why he acts as if he’s going to rape Laurel when he finds she took his money.

Somehow they both must reconcile their unrealistic expectation that the other will somehow automatically know them well enough to bury all doubts, and open themselves up to rejection, to bury pride and connect now for the rest of their lives.

In contrast, Lewis Freed courts Bunty by dating, by talking, by visiting, by kissing, by marriage. He’s not afraid of rejection and he doesn’t let pride or some utopian belief in the power of love keep him from claiming his bride. Eventually Nicholas follows suit, convincing Laurel that he loved her enough to have faith without another’s testimony.

I liked Girl for a Millionaire for the dual romance and the emotional insights. Laurel was not willing to allow Nicholas to believe her based solely on someone else’s word, she knew that if he couldn’t believe her based on his own knowledge of her character that they would have many incidents of distrust in the future. She had to eventually believe that Freed only helped cement Nick’s own faith.

Nicholas shows greater faith and perseverance than Laurel. He tracks her down twice to apologize and restate his faith and love and it’s only the second time, when he states Freed simply precipitated the meeting, that Laurel believes him.

I enjoyed Girl for a Millionaire immensely. I loved seeing Nick and Laurel stumble their way past distrust and fear through forgiveness to faith and love. I liked seeing Lewis convince Bunty that they would be happy together. And I was very pleased that Nick and Laurel are off to get married at the end.

5 Stars

I got my paperback copy on eBay. Amazon has copies in stock; Thriftbooks does not at this moment.

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One Stolen Moment – Rosemary Hammond Harlequin Presents

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I’m not sure how One Stolen Moment got into the Harlequin Presents imprint because nothing much happens and the romance is barely there. Claudia is at her brother’s home recovering from a serious car crash that left her unable to walk before months of intensive therapy. She had been a prima ballerina until the accident and now she can never dance again; she limps. Julian is an widower artist living near her brother’s home and has a daughter.

Claudia and Julian are immensely attracted to each other but he is emotionally crippled from his wife’s death in a car crash and not willing to consider any long term commitment to a woman who is crippled physically. In fact he rejects Claudia.

The story proceeds along with Claudia making friends with Julian’s daughter, while a former co-worker at her dance company drives up to Seattle to court her. (Just once I’d like the nice guy to win and not the jerk.) Julian and Claudia try to avoid each other but finally they end up in bed together, leading Claudia to see a future together for oh, about 5 minutes. She walks out of the bedroom into the kitchen to find Julian and his voluptuous agent Sharon together and obviously more than fond of each other. Of course eventually they get the problems cleared up, the hopeful other man and other woman disappear and Julian and Claudia plan to marry.

One Stolen Moment is SLOW. Glacial. Ponderous. Boring. I didn’t much see any reason for the two people to fall in love, much less fall into bed and then marry, nor is the plot at all interesting. Romance and characters are not compelling.

Author Rosemary Hammond makes her settings come alive (too bad the characters don’t) and we can almost feel the grassy farmland on the San Juan island, see the foggy mornings. She writes good descriptions of people and how they act, how they dress, she just doesn’t have a good set of characters or plot to work with here.

Overall One Stolen Moment is 2 Stars, readable but nothing at all special and nothing to make me want to reread it.

I purchased my paperback copy on eBay, where you will usually find copies of this author’s novels, and it is also available on Amazon and Thriftbooks in paperback format.

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Bittersweet Revenge Rosemary Hammond Harlequin Presents

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Yes, another revenge romance. And this revenge is particularly stupid, which is a shame because the rest of the story is quite good. Ten years ago Val and David had been high school best buddies, dating and falling in love. The year she was a senior, Val’s parents died in a drunk driving car crash and Val left the small California town to live near Seattle with her aunt. Val knew David drank too and had become concerned with it, and after her parents died she was unwilling to continue in any romance with David.

Now, 10 years on, Val is back for her high school reunion and has a good heart to heart with David before he leaves the party, drinks and dies in a car accident. David’s brother Michael, a successful cardiologist, blames Val for this because she broke David’s heart 10 years ago. Oh, give me a break! What sort of brother would expect any 17 year old girl to remain in love once she moves away after her folks die and she doesn’t see the guy any more? And what sort of brother would blame her for dumping the guy when he consistently drinks too much, especially when her folks died due to drinking? And who would be anything but glad that his alcoholic 17 year old brother wasn’t planning marriage??

But Michael did blame Val. It was her fault David drank for the last 10 years, and obviously she must have upset him so much at the reunion that he drove off drunk. Clearly Val is responsible and clearly she must PAY!

The whole revenge thing makes no sense whatsoever. It’s a darn shame Hammond included it because it detracts from an otherwise solid romance.

Val and Michael have chemistry plus similar interest plus genuine liking going for them, and Michael decides to forego his seduction/dump revenge but unfortunately for them both, Val finds out his plans after they sleep together and before he tells her that he’s moving to Seattle where she lives. Val can’t quite believe that he intended to tell her and based on his earlier accusations figures he is lying now and had planned revenge all along.

Incidentally, what is with the whole seduction-as-revenge thing anyway?? Does it make any sense to you that a guy who believes he’s top of the walk and perfectly positioned to be judge, jury and executioner, would decide that he wants to sleep with a woman he despises? No? It doesn’t make sense to me either. Plus the idea of turning lovemaking into punishment is icky.

Hammond creates good characters including Val’s best friend and employee, and the Other Woman and Other Man, neither of whom have much to do with the story aside from causing worry and concern. The dialogue is good and Hammond uses dialogue with internal musings to move the story along and give us glimpses of Val’s feelings and hurt. She tells the story entirely from Val’s point of view so we see MIchael only as Val sees him, an ever-evolving portrait.

Hammond writes reasonably well. I had a hard time getting through this novel but that’s because I couldn’t get past the idiocy of wanting revenge for a high school romance gone bad, especially when there were excellent reasons for the romance to end and it wasn’t Michael’s romance anyway. The pacing is a little slow and there isn’t a ton of plot here.

Overall Bittersweet Revenge is good, a solid entry in the Harlequin Presents Romantic Revenge category, but it’s not great and I found it slow. Let’s be generous and round up to

3 Stars.

I got my copy from eBay, where you often can find Harlequins in good condiiton, and Thriftbooks and Amazon both have the print version. Bittersweet Revenge is not available now in E format. I didn’t see it on Archive.org.

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