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A Reason for Marriage
A Reason For Marriag by Penny Jordan released on Nov 24, 1987 is available now for purchase.
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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306 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,127 books668 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 21, 2022
The reason was《spoiler alert》
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dumb af.
❥the bitch believed the OW and fled the scene without demanding an explanation from her lover/ hero/boyfriend first. yet again the angst born from the cinders of the heroine's stupidity and cowardice. what's new.
❥if both main characters loved each other so profoundly that they stayed celibate during their six-year separation why wouldn't they try to contact each other once? communicating goes against their religion and moral beliefs? #we_die_but_we_die_horny_and_celibate
❥beta men are boring and shouldn't procreate to pass their genes. if the hero's daddy wasn't terminally ill and didn't want grandbabies the hero would have waited till the heroine went gray to claim his hot-grandmother-girlfriend? where's the dedication?? the decisiveness?? the manliness??? what's he???? a teenager in need of guidance from his parents?
❥kinda funny how their parents were shipping them so hard... considering that they are stepsiblings who basically grew up together. 💀#we_keep_it_in_the_family
❥the angst was pulled out of thin air. so embarrassing that authors hafta write their characters brainless so that we could have some angst.
❥the chemistry was not chemistrying. even more embarrassing, if that's even possible.
❥i struggled through this for nothing. #dumb_bitch
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dumb af.
❥the bitch believed the OW and fled the scene without demanding an explanation from her lover/ hero/boyfriend first. yet again the angst born from the cinders of the heroine's stupidity and cowardice. what's new.
❥if both main characters loved each other so profoundly that they stayed celibate during their six-year separation why wouldn't they try to contact each other once? communicating goes against their religion and moral beliefs? #we_die_but_we_die_horny_and_celibate
❥beta men are boring and shouldn't procreate to pass their genes. if the hero's daddy wasn't terminally ill and didn't want grandbabies the hero would have waited till the heroine went gray to claim his hot-grandmother-girlfriend? where's the dedication?? the decisiveness?? the manliness??? what's he???? a teenager in need of guidance from his parents?
❥kinda funny how their parents were shipping them so hard... considering that they are stepsiblings who basically grew up together. 💀#we_keep_it_in_the_family
❥the angst was pulled out of thin air. so embarrassing that authors hafta write their characters brainless so that we could have some angst.
❥the chemistry was not chemistrying. even more embarrassing, if that's even possible.
❥i struggled through this for nothing. #dumb_bitch
August 16, 2016
Re A Reason for Marriage - new HP travelers may not feel the lurve on this one - PJ is giving us a stepbrother-stepsister romance. Only here there is no Harleys, tattoo's or midnight clandestine meetings.
Nope, the H and h's mutual parents are actually hoping and sacrificing on the altar of the PJ Commonwealth gods that our step siblings marry. They are tired of waiting around for grandchildren and the old stepdad's heart isn't getting any better. The poor old man just wants to hand over the reigns of his business empire to his son and know that the future of the business empire is assured by having his lovely step-daughter provide the requisite heir, spare and a few more assorted gene carriers to continue the proud family traditions and provide for the empire's bottom line.
The 'Rent's almost had their wish six years earlier, the h was 18 and in the stepfather's eyes ripe for plucking for the role of consort and heir carrier. But something happened and the fool girl needlessly took herself off to get an interior decorating career - much to his disgust- didn't she realize running off like that took up a valuable job for someone who actually needed to make a living and where the heck are his heirs? His old battered heart still isn't getting any better and the girl is such a workaholic she doesn't even come home for Christmas, much to the despair of his lovely wife, the h's mother.
The h has a somewhat different opinion tho. Six years ago she was all ready to leap into the flames of domesticity, household running and baby making, but then she walked into her lover H's flat and found him all cozy and licking the tonsils of another woman.
That same OW who had explained to the h earlier, in great detail, that she was optimizing the rides on the H's tower of power, since the h was barely managing to accommodate the first three floors and the OW was great enough to ride all 150. Still, the OW continues, poor h performance on tower riding aside, there is the H's need to have full control of his father's business and the only way he is going to get that is by marrying the shy bunny h, as the H's dad plans to split his company shares between them. Not to worry tho, the power riding will continue, even after the vows are spoken. The OW completely understands that these young naive ladies might be a bit intimidated by the more energetic climbing intimacies of marital relations.
Now the h isn't completely naive, and she knows a good case of envy when she sees it. So she blows the OW's rantings off as the delusions of a deranged mind. After all she and the H have been lurvin it up for a month now, and he doesn't seem to be complaining. Well not until she did a little flat excursion and found the H in the OW's arms. Suddenly reality bites and the h has to take herself off to London and build a great career to cauterize her bleeding wounds and bury the remnants of her heart.
Things go well for the h after that, she is a big success and rarely visits home. Then on a weekend excursion to see her married younger cousin and her goddaughter, she runs into the H again (with his 19 year old girlfriend in tow- and isn't that some food for thought about the H's actual tastes - he is 32 and hooking up with a 19 year old remarkably reminiscent of the h's own chaste innocent outlook in the past.)
The H pretty much bullies and threatens the h into returning to the family pile for Christmas, the h's stepfather's heart is failing and she really needs to show her respect and pay a visit. Surely she and the H can get along for a few days, it is Christmas after all and the step father's heart isn't getting any better. The h is on the spot and takes up the gauntlet.
Poor h, little does she know the games are just beginning. Things are going for bad to worse and it doesn't help any when the h dramatically faints into the H's arms and he has to carry her of to bed in front of the cousins and his little girlfriend. A passionate kissing session ensues and the h just can't figure what got into her, hopefully it was all in her imagination - or maybe she can blame it on delirious jet lag - as far as she knows she hasn't been exposed to any rare tropical fevers, so that leaves the ubiquitous sponging out.
Oh yes, the 19 year old girlfriend whom Jake and her daddy have decided will be an acceptable life partner. Weeelll --the young lady isn't at all keen to throw herself into the role, she wants a career just like the h. So she latches on to the h like a leech afraid of drowning. Of course the h has to save her, especially when the young lady shows up unannounced at her flat late one night after hitching a ride with a total stranger. (PJ takes the opportunity for a public safety message warning readers of the stranger danger of hitchhiking.)
The girl and her father had argued over her marrying the H, who apparently was pressing for marriage himself and his description of the positively Victorian lifestyle he expected his future wife to lead sent the girl screaming into the night in a dead panic. Fortunately she had the h's address and did not get a ride from a serial killer and the h was able to help the young lady convince her parents that a future career in business is a better life choice for her. Which is great for the girl and the h is happy that a young protege has found the correct life path that doesn't include the H.
Which only leaves the problem of the H, and his potential fury at being denied his chosen bride. The step father's heart isn't getting any better , but there is some hope that a new drug that will be available in a year will be able to help him.
The only thing is the stepfather needs something to live those twelve months for. The H was planning to marry his little runaway and give his dad some hope for an heir apparent, but the h put the kibbosh on that with her impromptu family therapy session. Not to worry, the H decides, the h can just jump on the Victorian wife life bandwagon, surely she has gained some experience on power towers over the last several years and she isn't bad looking, so bed shouldn't be a problem. Plus she owes the stepfather some loyalty for those four years of housing and education after he married her mother, surely she feels enough filial duty and obligation to marry the H and continue the family line. At least until the dickey heart medication can kick in.
So marriage it is, even though the h is dreading it (cause she still has that lovin' feeling - but she has to hide it from the H, it will never do to admit vulnerability to the cheating love rat). The family is ecstatic, the H is domineeringly smug and the h is petrified she is going to betray herself . The wedding occurs with all due pomp and ceremony and we are all off to Switzerland for a skiing honeymoon. Which is a bit strange for the h as she isn't big on skiing. Still what the H wants, he makes sure everyone else gets for him and so skiing it is. There is angry marital relations and while the h is despondent over her melting response, at least she got a good shag out of it.
The honeymoon with hostilities commences and it isn't much improved when who should wander in but the H's OW, complete with burgeoning baby belly and a husband. She ruthlessly imposes herself on the H and the h is unfortunately stuck too. There is polite chat over coffee and much to the h's disgust a formal diner invitation to join the OW and her hubby is extended and accepted.
(Now I personally think PJ dropped the ball here. There was soooo much potential for the h to really get her own back over dinner. I had visions of the h casually lifting her wine glass with a jungle red nail tipped hand and leaning in a bit for intimacy while asking the OW if the child she carried was actually her hubby's or some other friend's fiance she had been shagging behind her back?
As the OW is still sputtering, the h could then turn to the OW's hubby, and with a winning smile, ask him how HE felt about having the H's sloppy seconds? When the OW hubby chokes on his creme brulee and the OW is hysterical, the H can shout in outrage about his audacious wife.
Then the h could turn with a completely innocent look on her face and ask the H what did he expect was going to happen when he foists his shag toy on his wife at dinner?) Sadly, PJ wasn't feeling my future mental telepathy when she wrote this, cause that totally did not happen.
Instead the OW, the H and the h all wander off in different directions. Then the OW shows up at the h's chalet a bit later that day. She has come to apologize, cause she lied all over the place six years earlier, she and the H were never lovers. Then she forced a kiss on the H when the h arrived at his flat. The OW knows that obviously the h figured out that she was lying, cause she and the H are married. Still the OW was jealous and thought in her youthful arrogance and infatuation that if she got rid of the h, the H would fall all over himself to lurve her up and marry her. She slinks off embarrassed and now the h has a problem. (But she also doesn't have to go dinner with the OW and her hubby, they call and cancel.)
The OW tells the h that the H is totally in love with her, when the OW met the H earlier, he couldn't stop talking about the h and how he finally got his girl. Then the h's mother calls and reaffirms that the H has been pining away for the h for years, but the h's mum convinced him that the h needed time to have a career and mature - tho both parents are delighted that the marriage has finally happened.
The h now wants to shout to the world and the H that she loves him, but she has a bit of a credibility problem as she has been telling the H she hates him. Then the h gets a brainstorm and decides to cook a cozy little chalet meal and seduce the H in the hot tub. It works! After the bubblin' lurve clubbin the H totally believes in the h's love. He also confesses he used his little 19yr old to manipulate the h into marrying him. He never REALLY had designs on her, but her dad was dropping heavy hints and the H figured he could use her to put pressure on the h. He did not expect the h to get as involved as she did, but it worked out even better cause now the h had to marry him to "replace" the bride he supposedly lost - but really never meant to propose to.
The h and H have now confessed their mutual devotion and the H insists that he has had no other woman since the h, cause he was too obsessed with her for any thought of anyone else and his dad gave him tons of grief about it. But he also doesn't mind if she keeps up her career, he understands that work is important to women too.
The h is happy that the H really isn't a total Victorian autocrat, but she will sell her partner her half of the London business and start a smaller venture more in keeping with wife and motherhood - besides rag rolling is becoming so passe'. Future happily planned, the H and h resume the jacquzziing for a bubble filled HEA.
This one was okay, but the H was pretty ruthless in his manipulations and there was no explanation for his reasons for having his tongue down the OW's throat and for not following the h to explain. He wrote one letter, which the h did not read and that was it. Plus, I canna admire a man that would intimidate and manipulate an innocent 19yr old whom he knows has a rather domineering, bullying parent. His manipulations went on too long and his instant acceptance of the OW's company makes him a very insensitive person. He gets points on the celibacy, but none on the rest and while he was sorta supposedly innocent of being a cheating love rat, it had been six years and he never even tried to talk to the h. If he was that stuck on her, he should have looked her up and asked politely for a chat at the very least.
The h was equally worrisome, she is totally neurotic to the point of fainting when she thinks the H knows she loves him, yet when the big admission time comes around she forgets 172 pages of mental angst about how she has revealed her love and has to ponder for a good two hours about how to tell the H. Her logic defies reason, she thinks he already knows she loves him, so what was the big neurosis over telling him in words? Plus, why does her MOTHER have to tell the h about the H's feelings or the OW - what was that supposed to be about? Mum and the OW said it so the h should believe it? What? PJ can't make the H intelligible for an entire conversation? (Okay, maybe that is too snarky - cause the man couldn't even speak coherently to the h for six years. - maybe the mum idear wasn't so bad after all.)
However, the book is a PJ and I am still a fangirl, so I did get through it and it isn't terrible. They get to the HEA, I sorta believe it and sometimes good enough is okay in HPlandia. I still sorta wanted a Harley and some tats with six pack abs tho - that could have been a whole lot more interesting in the jacquzzi.
Nope, the H and h's mutual parents are actually hoping and sacrificing on the altar of the PJ Commonwealth gods that our step siblings marry. They are tired of waiting around for grandchildren and the old stepdad's heart isn't getting any better. The poor old man just wants to hand over the reigns of his business empire to his son and know that the future of the business empire is assured by having his lovely step-daughter provide the requisite heir, spare and a few more assorted gene carriers to continue the proud family traditions and provide for the empire's bottom line.
The 'Rent's almost had their wish six years earlier, the h was 18 and in the stepfather's eyes ripe for plucking for the role of consort and heir carrier. But something happened and the fool girl needlessly took herself off to get an interior decorating career - much to his disgust- didn't she realize running off like that took up a valuable job for someone who actually needed to make a living and where the heck are his heirs? His old battered heart still isn't getting any better and the girl is such a workaholic she doesn't even come home for Christmas, much to the despair of his lovely wife, the h's mother.
The h has a somewhat different opinion tho. Six years ago she was all ready to leap into the flames of domesticity, household running and baby making, but then she walked into her lover H's flat and found him all cozy and licking the tonsils of another woman.
That same OW who had explained to the h earlier, in great detail, that she was optimizing the rides on the H's tower of power, since the h was barely managing to accommodate the first three floors and the OW was great enough to ride all 150. Still, the OW continues, poor h performance on tower riding aside, there is the H's need to have full control of his father's business and the only way he is going to get that is by marrying the shy bunny h, as the H's dad plans to split his company shares between them. Not to worry tho, the power riding will continue, even after the vows are spoken. The OW completely understands that these young naive ladies might be a bit intimidated by the more energetic climbing intimacies of marital relations.
Now the h isn't completely naive, and she knows a good case of envy when she sees it. So she blows the OW's rantings off as the delusions of a deranged mind. After all she and the H have been lurvin it up for a month now, and he doesn't seem to be complaining. Well not until she did a little flat excursion and found the H in the OW's arms. Suddenly reality bites and the h has to take herself off to London and build a great career to cauterize her bleeding wounds and bury the remnants of her heart.
Things go well for the h after that, she is a big success and rarely visits home. Then on a weekend excursion to see her married younger cousin and her goddaughter, she runs into the H again (with his 19 year old girlfriend in tow- and isn't that some food for thought about the H's actual tastes - he is 32 and hooking up with a 19 year old remarkably reminiscent of the h's own chaste innocent outlook in the past.)
The H pretty much bullies and threatens the h into returning to the family pile for Christmas, the h's stepfather's heart is failing and she really needs to show her respect and pay a visit. Surely she and the H can get along for a few days, it is Christmas after all and the step father's heart isn't getting any better. The h is on the spot and takes up the gauntlet.
Poor h, little does she know the games are just beginning. Things are going for bad to worse and it doesn't help any when the h dramatically faints into the H's arms and he has to carry her of to bed in front of the cousins and his little girlfriend. A passionate kissing session ensues and the h just can't figure what got into her, hopefully it was all in her imagination - or maybe she can blame it on delirious jet lag - as far as she knows she hasn't been exposed to any rare tropical fevers, so that leaves the ubiquitous sponging out.
Oh yes, the 19 year old girlfriend whom Jake and her daddy have decided will be an acceptable life partner. Weeelll --the young lady isn't at all keen to throw herself into the role, she wants a career just like the h. So she latches on to the h like a leech afraid of drowning. Of course the h has to save her, especially when the young lady shows up unannounced at her flat late one night after hitching a ride with a total stranger. (PJ takes the opportunity for a public safety message warning readers of the stranger danger of hitchhiking.)
The girl and her father had argued over her marrying the H, who apparently was pressing for marriage himself and his description of the positively Victorian lifestyle he expected his future wife to lead sent the girl screaming into the night in a dead panic. Fortunately she had the h's address and did not get a ride from a serial killer and the h was able to help the young lady convince her parents that a future career in business is a better life choice for her. Which is great for the girl and the h is happy that a young protege has found the correct life path that doesn't include the H.
Which only leaves the problem of the H, and his potential fury at being denied his chosen bride. The step father's heart isn't getting any better , but there is some hope that a new drug that will be available in a year will be able to help him.
The only thing is the stepfather needs something to live those twelve months for. The H was planning to marry his little runaway and give his dad some hope for an heir apparent, but the h put the kibbosh on that with her impromptu family therapy session. Not to worry, the H decides, the h can just jump on the Victorian wife life bandwagon, surely she has gained some experience on power towers over the last several years and she isn't bad looking, so bed shouldn't be a problem. Plus she owes the stepfather some loyalty for those four years of housing and education after he married her mother, surely she feels enough filial duty and obligation to marry the H and continue the family line. At least until the dickey heart medication can kick in.
So marriage it is, even though the h is dreading it (cause she still has that lovin' feeling - but she has to hide it from the H, it will never do to admit vulnerability to the cheating love rat). The family is ecstatic, the H is domineeringly smug and the h is petrified she is going to betray herself . The wedding occurs with all due pomp and ceremony and we are all off to Switzerland for a skiing honeymoon. Which is a bit strange for the h as she isn't big on skiing. Still what the H wants, he makes sure everyone else gets for him and so skiing it is. There is angry marital relations and while the h is despondent over her melting response, at least she got a good shag out of it.
The honeymoon with hostilities commences and it isn't much improved when who should wander in but the H's OW, complete with burgeoning baby belly and a husband. She ruthlessly imposes herself on the H and the h is unfortunately stuck too. There is polite chat over coffee and much to the h's disgust a formal diner invitation to join the OW and her hubby is extended and accepted.
(Now I personally think PJ dropped the ball here. There was soooo much potential for the h to really get her own back over dinner. I had visions of the h casually lifting her wine glass with a jungle red nail tipped hand and leaning in a bit for intimacy while asking the OW if the child she carried was actually her hubby's or some other friend's fiance she had been shagging behind her back?
As the OW is still sputtering, the h could then turn to the OW's hubby, and with a winning smile, ask him how HE felt about having the H's sloppy seconds? When the OW hubby chokes on his creme brulee and the OW is hysterical, the H can shout in outrage about his audacious wife.
Then the h could turn with a completely innocent look on her face and ask the H what did he expect was going to happen when he foists his shag toy on his wife at dinner?) Sadly, PJ wasn't feeling my future mental telepathy when she wrote this, cause that totally did not happen.
Instead the OW, the H and the h all wander off in different directions. Then the OW shows up at the h's chalet a bit later that day. She has come to apologize, cause she lied all over the place six years earlier, she and the H were never lovers. Then she forced a kiss on the H when the h arrived at his flat. The OW knows that obviously the h figured out that she was lying, cause she and the H are married. Still the OW was jealous and thought in her youthful arrogance and infatuation that if she got rid of the h, the H would fall all over himself to lurve her up and marry her. She slinks off embarrassed and now the h has a problem. (But she also doesn't have to go dinner with the OW and her hubby, they call and cancel.)
The OW tells the h that the H is totally in love with her, when the OW met the H earlier, he couldn't stop talking about the h and how he finally got his girl. Then the h's mother calls and reaffirms that the H has been pining away for the h for years, but the h's mum convinced him that the h needed time to have a career and mature - tho both parents are delighted that the marriage has finally happened.
The h now wants to shout to the world and the H that she loves him, but she has a bit of a credibility problem as she has been telling the H she hates him. Then the h gets a brainstorm and decides to cook a cozy little chalet meal and seduce the H in the hot tub. It works! After the bubblin' lurve clubbin the H totally believes in the h's love. He also confesses he used his little 19yr old to manipulate the h into marrying him. He never REALLY had designs on her, but her dad was dropping heavy hints and the H figured he could use her to put pressure on the h. He did not expect the h to get as involved as she did, but it worked out even better cause now the h had to marry him to "replace" the bride he supposedly lost - but really never meant to propose to.
The h and H have now confessed their mutual devotion and the H insists that he has had no other woman since the h, cause he was too obsessed with her for any thought of anyone else and his dad gave him tons of grief about it. But he also doesn't mind if she keeps up her career, he understands that work is important to women too.
The h is happy that the H really isn't a total Victorian autocrat, but she will sell her partner her half of the London business and start a smaller venture more in keeping with wife and motherhood - besides rag rolling is becoming so passe'. Future happily planned, the H and h resume the jacquzziing for a bubble filled HEA.
This one was okay, but the H was pretty ruthless in his manipulations and there was no explanation for his reasons for having his tongue down the OW's throat and for not following the h to explain. He wrote one letter, which the h did not read and that was it. Plus, I canna admire a man that would intimidate and manipulate an innocent 19yr old whom he knows has a rather domineering, bullying parent. His manipulations went on too long and his instant acceptance of the OW's company makes him a very insensitive person. He gets points on the celibacy, but none on the rest and while he was sorta supposedly innocent of being a cheating love rat, it had been six years and he never even tried to talk to the h. If he was that stuck on her, he should have looked her up and asked politely for a chat at the very least.
The h was equally worrisome, she is totally neurotic to the point of fainting when she thinks the H knows she loves him, yet when the big admission time comes around she forgets 172 pages of mental angst about how she has revealed her love and has to ponder for a good two hours about how to tell the H. Her logic defies reason, she thinks he already knows she loves him, so what was the big neurosis over telling him in words? Plus, why does her MOTHER have to tell the h about the H's feelings or the OW - what was that supposed to be about? Mum and the OW said it so the h should believe it? What? PJ can't make the H intelligible for an entire conversation? (Okay, maybe that is too snarky - cause the man couldn't even speak coherently to the h for six years. - maybe the mum idear wasn't so bad after all.)
However, the book is a PJ and I am still a fangirl, so I did get through it and it isn't terrible. They get to the HEA, I sorta believe it and sometimes good enough is okay in HPlandia. I still sorta wanted a Harley and some tats with six pack abs tho - that could have been a whole lot more interesting in the jacquzzi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2020
"A Reason for Marriage" is a romantic story of heedless desire,longing and hate.Penny Jordan presents the long old tale of two separated lovers who also are step-siblings who had agreed to marry each other.But one lie and a misunderstanding shatters everything and the 18-year old Jamie Brierton leaves Jake Brierton,writing a letter to tell him that she would rather have a ambitious career than marry him.Six years later she has accomplished a lot as a clever business woman,but lives a unhappy and lonely life.But only after reuniting with an very angry Jake does she realize that beneath her cold demeanour hides that mindless love she always have felt for him,and starts to fear that love once he blackmails her into marrying him.
This one had much more passion and angst than the latest book i read by Penny.It was also executed much better,in the sense that it drawns you into the world and emotions of the main-leads.Jamie is another blind heroine of Penny Jordan.She loves Jake madly,but is so blind when it comes to his love.He even said that he was marrying her for love,and she STUPIDLY mistook it for something else.Jake Brierton is one of those eccentric and loyal heroes of PJ.Loving Jamie so much that he couldn`t bear to touch another woman.His raw unhappiness,bitter resentment and heartbreak over what she did to him was very honest.As a reader my heart went out for him,and for him i was even willing to slap Jamie a few times for throwing his intensions back at his face.I love the scene where she seduces him in a jacuzzi,and he teasingly asks her to do it again.That was sweet!
This one had much more passion and angst than the latest book i read by Penny.It was also executed much better,in the sense that it drawns you into the world and emotions of the main-leads.Jamie is another blind heroine of Penny Jordan.She loves Jake madly,but is so blind when it comes to his love.He even said that he was marrying her for love,and she STUPIDLY mistook it for something else.Jake Brierton is one of those eccentric and loyal heroes of PJ.Loving Jamie so much that he couldn`t bear to touch another woman.His raw unhappiness,bitter resentment and heartbreak over what she did to him was very honest.As a reader my heart went out for him,and for him i was even willing to slap Jamie a few times for throwing his intensions back at his face.I love the scene where she seduces him in a jacuzzi,and he teasingly asks her to do it again.That was sweet!
September 30, 2022
Update
September 30th/2022
4.5 stars
First reading
November 13th/2020
When I started the book, I couldn't stop reading it. The story was very good, and as other readers said, the hero from this book wasn't an @ssh*le 😉. I liked him, and she was as always the classic Penny Jordan's heroine with a lot of thoughts in her head, bad ones 🤷🏻♀️ but she was OK.
People who read my reviews know that I always want an epilogue, this book doesn't have one 😢 However, it was a satisfying ending.
September 30th/2022
4.5 stars
First reading
November 13th/2020
When I started the book, I couldn't stop reading it. The story was very good, and as other readers said, the hero from this book wasn't an @ssh*le 😉. I liked him, and she was as always the classic Penny Jordan's heroine with a lot of thoughts in her head, bad ones 🤷🏻♀️ but she was OK.
People who read my reviews know that I always want an epilogue, this book doesn't have one 😢 However, it was a satisfying ending.
August 10, 2020
Note to self: this is the one where the stepbrother/step sis break up after the OW convinces her hero is only marrying her for her inheritance. Heroine has avoided her family for six years while she has made a name for herself as an interior designer specializing in painting techniques (stippling, rag, etc. . .)
The H/h are reunited because of her stepfather's heart troubles and the hero's desire to marry an 19 year-old heiress who doesn't want to marry him. Heroine faints the first time she sees him and she has lots of intense emotions to keep it interesting. There is sponging when the hero warms her frostbitten feet.
Hero railroads her with his sexxxy moves to marry him after the Christmas holidays. Heroine encounters the repentant OW while the H/h are on their honeymoon at a ski resort and that's what finally clears up the misunderstandings.
As you can see, this is typical PJ fare. Hero is pretty much a jerk the entire story - and he never chased her down - so he's no prize. Be happy the heroine is happy.
The H/h are reunited because of her stepfather's heart troubles and the hero's desire to marry an 19 year-old heiress who doesn't want to marry him. Heroine faints the first time she sees him and she has lots of intense emotions to keep it interesting. There is sponging when the hero warms her frostbitten feet.
Hero railroads her with his sexxxy moves to marry him after the Christmas holidays. Heroine encounters the repentant OW while the H/h are on their honeymoon at a ski resort and that's what finally clears up the misunderstandings.
As you can see, this is typical PJ fare. Hero is pretty much a jerk the entire story - and he never chased her down - so he's no prize. Be happy the heroine is happy.
November 4, 2013
Sweet story about two childhood sweethearts heroine and her stepbrother who are reunited years since they broke up and enter into a marriage of "convenience" or that's what they think because in reality they never stopped loving each other! Heartwarming story that had me swooning nonstop.
August 2, 2019
"A Reason for Marriage" is the story of Jamie and Jake.
Oh this was SO GOOD!
Angsty, passionate read in which separated lovers and stepsiblings are reunited when one of their parents gets sick, and they are forced to finally face long ignored issues.
It was super sexy with obsessive elements, eyeroll worthy moments, loads of burning attraction, yearning and unrequited love.
There were stubborn but super in lurveee MCs, interfering relatives, jealousy, OM/OW drama, marriage of convenience, hot lovemaking, confessions and HEA.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
Oh this was SO GOOD!
Angsty, passionate read in which separated lovers and stepsiblings are reunited when one of their parents gets sick, and they are forced to finally face long ignored issues.
It was super sexy with obsessive elements, eyeroll worthy moments, loads of burning attraction, yearning and unrequited love.
There were stubborn but super in lurveee MCs, interfering relatives, jealousy, OM/OW drama, marriage of convenience, hot lovemaking, confessions and HEA.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
August 1, 2021
What a cute love story! All in PJ style, with misunderstandings and miscommunication all around. The hero and the heroine are step siblings. Hero is older and heroine is in love with him since forever. When she’s 18 love and passion flare and they have sex and get engaged. But an evil ow tells the heroine that he is marrying her only for her inheritance and he’s her lover. Heroine goes to hero’s house and she finds him kissing the ow. She runs away and leaves writing him a letter where she says she wants her freedom and a career and is too young to marry. Hero writes her a letter that she destroys without reading it.
Six years later they meet at a relative’s house and he’s with his last girlfriend.
Heroine has a career but she never got over him.
She’s now a sophisticated and mature woman ( I’m wondering how a 24 year old can be mature and sophisticated, maybe at 34 but still I’m not sure)
She and the hero have a quarrel and he persuades her to go home for Christmas since his father, her stepfather, is severely ill. Heroine accepts even if she doesn’t want to be with the hero.
His gf goes to the heroine house some days before Christmas and asks her for help since she doesn’t want to marry the hero and he asked her to get married as soon as possible. The heroine is jealous and hurt but she helps her to persuade her father that she’s not ready to get married.
The hero goes to the heroine and tells her that since he has not a gf anymore and his father wants him to get married the heroine has to marry him. Lol. Never heard such a bulls**t. Of course the heroine feels guilty and accepts to get married for her stepfathers sake. Lol. The hero and the heroine have their hot moments with kissing and petting before marriage, he marks the territory more and more times and has some alpha fit of rage because he’s jealous of her previous lovers. That of course she never had.
They get married and go to honeymoon, have a wonderful night of hot sex and then the day after, she sees him at the hotel bar speaking with the notorious ow. She pretends everything is ok, and then the ow speak with her alone and apologizes for all the lies she told her years before. Because she never was hero’s lover and he refused her advanced. Instead of punching her hard, the heroine forgives her and talks with her mother who confirms that the hero has been in love with her for all those years and never had another woman.
The heroine decides to seduce him and tells him she loves him and explains why she left him years before. Everyone is happy and even the stepfather is not ill anymore.
I loved this book. It was a quick and uncomplicated reading.
The heroine was quite stupid and naive but she was 18 and actually she found them in a compromising situation and it was understandable that she didn’t believe him. He didn’t understand why she left him even if he knew she saw him kissing ow? Not very smart himself.
The girlfriend he took at the party was not a girlfriend and he only wanted to make the heroine jealous. All he made was to have her back.
Yes it’s clear that if they talked about the whole mess when she first saw him with the ow all would have been solved and they could have been happily married but we wouldn’t have had a book to read, no?
So all is well in the end.
Safe and nice until the end.
A bit of male chauvinism but not too much.
Heroine is not a doormat but she suffers from treacherous body syndrome.
Six years later they meet at a relative’s house and he’s with his last girlfriend.
Heroine has a career but she never got over him.
She’s now a sophisticated and mature woman ( I’m wondering how a 24 year old can be mature and sophisticated, maybe at 34 but still I’m not sure)
She and the hero have a quarrel and he persuades her to go home for Christmas since his father, her stepfather, is severely ill. Heroine accepts even if she doesn’t want to be with the hero.
His gf goes to the heroine house some days before Christmas and asks her for help since she doesn’t want to marry the hero and he asked her to get married as soon as possible. The heroine is jealous and hurt but she helps her to persuade her father that she’s not ready to get married.
The hero goes to the heroine and tells her that since he has not a gf anymore and his father wants him to get married the heroine has to marry him. Lol. Never heard such a bulls**t. Of course the heroine feels guilty and accepts to get married for her stepfathers sake. Lol. The hero and the heroine have their hot moments with kissing and petting before marriage, he marks the territory more and more times and has some alpha fit of rage because he’s jealous of her previous lovers. That of course she never had.
They get married and go to honeymoon, have a wonderful night of hot sex and then the day after, she sees him at the hotel bar speaking with the notorious ow. She pretends everything is ok, and then the ow speak with her alone and apologizes for all the lies she told her years before. Because she never was hero’s lover and he refused her advanced. Instead of punching her hard, the heroine forgives her and talks with her mother who confirms that the hero has been in love with her for all those years and never had another woman.
The heroine decides to seduce him and tells him she loves him and explains why she left him years before. Everyone is happy and even the stepfather is not ill anymore.
I loved this book. It was a quick and uncomplicated reading.
The heroine was quite stupid and naive but she was 18 and actually she found them in a compromising situation and it was understandable that she didn’t believe him. He didn’t understand why she left him even if he knew she saw him kissing ow? Not very smart himself.
The girlfriend he took at the party was not a girlfriend and he only wanted to make the heroine jealous. All he made was to have her back.
Yes it’s clear that if they talked about the whole mess when she first saw him with the ow all would have been solved and they could have been happily married but we wouldn’t have had a book to read, no?
So all is well in the end.
Safe and nice until the end.
A bit of male chauvinism but not too much.
Heroine is not a doormat but she suffers from treacherous body syndrome.
November 29, 2022
So I was really invested in this one, even though the h was annoying as hell. She’s 24 and she acts like she’s at least a couple decades older. It’s weird. And she’s unreasonably bitchy. BUT, It would have been a 4-star if not for these things:
- the h ran off after seeing the H kiss someone else. She doesn’t just leave the scene, she leaves the country, without a single conversation. This seems a little nuts over a kiss. You’re not even gonna confront him???
- the H doesn’t go after her. EVER. In 6 years. He just leaves it, and assumes she’s banging OP.
- and we find out the H has been pining for her the entire time. He was CELIBATE for 6 years. Wtf. I’d understand not going after her if he was throwing himself into debauchery to get over her…. Or maybe the OW tells him lies to make him hate the h… But no. He’s just home crying into his pillow like a pussy.
For S-I-X damn years. 😒
If he loves her so much that he can’t touch another woman, why wouldn’t he man up and go after her at ANY POINT in 6 years?
- and the OW who intentionally caused all this drama with her lies and manipulations? She’s instantly forgiven and forgotten. The hero never confronts her. In fact, they decide that maybe they should THANK HER. 😵💫😵💫😵💫😱
- and something I found odd was in the original retelling by the h of the scene when the h walked in on the H kissing the OW, she says he sees her and calls her name as she runs away. But at the end of the book, when the OW makes a reappearance, he acts like he has no clue that the kiss (which was forced upon him) with the OW is the reason the h ran away. In fact, he introduces them like they are strangers, even tho they knew each other enough 6 years prior that the OW approached the h with her lies.. anyway, it was weird that H doesn’t remember the h fleeing the scene of him kissing someone else… and doesn’t put those two things together as the reason for the h’s immediate move away and refusing to talk to him for years….
- I was annoyed that the only reason the H makes a move is to please his dying father. God I hate passive heros. DESPISE.
Bottom Line? It was an entertaining rage read. Loads of angst that I felt in my belly… but when I finished I found myself raging instead of sighing happily.
- the h ran off after seeing the H kiss someone else. She doesn’t just leave the scene, she leaves the country, without a single conversation. This seems a little nuts over a kiss. You’re not even gonna confront him???
- the H doesn’t go after her. EVER. In 6 years. He just leaves it, and assumes she’s banging OP.
- and we find out the H has been pining for her the entire time. He was CELIBATE for 6 years. Wtf. I’d understand not going after her if he was throwing himself into debauchery to get over her…. Or maybe the OW tells him lies to make him hate the h… But no. He’s just home crying into his pillow like a pussy.
For S-I-X damn years. 😒
If he loves her so much that he can’t touch another woman, why wouldn’t he man up and go after her at ANY POINT in 6 years?
- and the OW who intentionally caused all this drama with her lies and manipulations? She’s instantly forgiven and forgotten. The hero never confronts her. In fact, they decide that maybe they should THANK HER. 😵💫😵💫😵💫😱
- and something I found odd was in the original retelling by the h of the scene when the h walked in on the H kissing the OW, she says he sees her and calls her name as she runs away. But at the end of the book, when the OW makes a reappearance, he acts like he has no clue that the kiss (which was forced upon him) with the OW is the reason the h ran away. In fact, he introduces them like they are strangers, even tho they knew each other enough 6 years prior that the OW approached the h with her lies.. anyway, it was weird that H doesn’t remember the h fleeing the scene of him kissing someone else… and doesn’t put those two things together as the reason for the h’s immediate move away and refusing to talk to him for years….
- I was annoyed that the only reason the H makes a move is to please his dying father. God I hate passive heros. DESPISE.
Bottom Line? It was an entertaining rage read. Loads of angst that I felt in my belly… but when I finished I found myself raging instead of sighing happily.
March 12, 2021
Another sweeeeeet one from PJ. A chauvinistic alpha H, a sweet and grumbling h who loved each other madly and deeply. A misunderstanding takes them apart and wastes six long years of their life. This is vintage HP so there is no mention of communication that could’ve ended their misery with exchange of a few facts. Instead they wait it out six years to straighten out their beef.
PJ really took it to another level in delaying the climax. Every scene of their reunion was always incomplete. Even their wedding night is delayed with them taking off to Paris to a ski resort. I hated how a pretty harmless OW, who the h met only once in her life, could turn Jamie against Mark who had such a deep consuming love for her. Anyone can’t just say things to you and you believe them and betray your love for your man.
But it was still a sweetly satisfying read with old fashioned dynamics to a marriage that intrinsically grab at your heart.
PJ really took it to another level in delaying the climax. Every scene of their reunion was always incomplete. Even their wedding night is delayed with them taking off to Paris to a ski resort. I hated how a pretty harmless OW, who the h met only once in her life, could turn Jamie against Mark who had such a deep consuming love for her. Anyone can’t just say things to you and you believe them and betray your love for your man.
But it was still a sweetly satisfying read with old fashioned dynamics to a marriage that intrinsically grab at your heart.
May 18, 2016
Sweeeeet!!! He never stopped loving her ~_~, November 9, 2011
MY THOUGHTS: 4 1/2 stars Spoilers included! I worked at the polls again which means, more reading time!! I give this book 4 1/2 stars, why? Because after reading, I thought the hero was SOOOO sweet!! He was devoted to her. The gist of it is that the hero and heroine hooked up when she was 18 and he 26. Hero loved the heroine and they were going to get married (or at least tell their parents that they were in love and gonna get married) Yes, they are stepsiblings and I think she came to the family when she was 14. Anyhoo, as always a series of misunderstandings happen wherein they break up and 6 years has passed. And that's where the excitement, back and forth banter goes on the book, yay! Buuuuuttttt what I found really sweet was that through those 6 years the hero ACTUALLY pined for the heroine and if I'm not mistaken, actually celibate because he couldn't get over the heroine/hoped she'd come back to him. I had a big "awww[...]" for him. Then I had to re-read the book to review/and observe the hero's words and actions again to backup that he loved the heroine/pined for the heroine. Even though he did pine for the heroine, the hero wasn't some wimpy arse in the book. He was still that manly macho hero just how I like them!Hero had a sneaky plan to get her, etc. And the love scenes are HOT ~_~ As for the heroine, I liked her. She didn't annoy me or wasn't a biyatch. She was just conflicted and its nice that once she knew the whole truth did she give him some LOVIN!!! The only minor issues I had in this book was that she had a male business partner at work and when she got married I don't think I saw any mention of her telling the business partner or inviting him to the wedding, etc. It was almost like the business partner disappeared into thin air. I'm like huh? You'd think the heroine would kinda mention the business partner like oh no what is he gonna think about how fast I got married or I have to get back to my business, etc. Heroine seemed to be in a permanent holiday in the story (doesn't she have to go back to work?) Just some minor inconsistencies. Also, there wasn't too much of a focus as to how and why they fell in love when they were younger back in the past. Nor did it seem like a big deal to them or to the parents. You'd think it was taboo or scary for them to tell their parents you know? But I guess Harlequin novels have specific number of pages so they can't include all that backstory. Anyhoo, those were just minor observations and opinions. I loved this book and I plan to keep it forever and re-read it from time to time because I loved the romantic storyline, sweet hero and hot love scene and SHHHWEEET ending. MUST KEEP book!
MY THOUGHTS: 4 1/2 stars Spoilers included! I worked at the polls again which means, more reading time!! I give this book 4 1/2 stars, why? Because after reading, I thought the hero was SOOOO sweet!! He was devoted to her. The gist of it is that the hero and heroine hooked up when she was 18 and he 26. Hero loved the heroine and they were going to get married (or at least tell their parents that they were in love and gonna get married) Yes, they are stepsiblings and I think she came to the family when she was 14. Anyhoo, as always a series of misunderstandings happen wherein they break up and 6 years has passed. And that's where the excitement, back and forth banter goes on the book, yay! Buuuuuttttt what I found really sweet was that through those 6 years the hero ACTUALLY pined for the heroine and if I'm not mistaken, actually celibate because he couldn't get over the heroine/hoped she'd come back to him. I had a big "awww[...]" for him. Then I had to re-read the book to review/and observe the hero's words and actions again to backup that he loved the heroine/pined for the heroine. Even though he did pine for the heroine, the hero wasn't some wimpy arse in the book. He was still that manly macho hero just how I like them!Hero had a sneaky plan to get her, etc. And the love scenes are HOT ~_~ As for the heroine, I liked her. She didn't annoy me or wasn't a biyatch. She was just conflicted and its nice that once she knew the whole truth did she give him some LOVIN!!! The only minor issues I had in this book was that she had a male business partner at work and when she got married I don't think I saw any mention of her telling the business partner or inviting him to the wedding, etc. It was almost like the business partner disappeared into thin air. I'm like huh? You'd think the heroine would kinda mention the business partner like oh no what is he gonna think about how fast I got married or I have to get back to my business, etc. Heroine seemed to be in a permanent holiday in the story (doesn't she have to go back to work?) Just some minor inconsistencies. Also, there wasn't too much of a focus as to how and why they fell in love when they were younger back in the past. Nor did it seem like a big deal to them or to the parents. You'd think it was taboo or scary for them to tell their parents you know? But I guess Harlequin novels have specific number of pages so they can't include all that backstory. Anyhoo, those were just minor observations and opinions. I loved this book and I plan to keep it forever and re-read it from time to time because I loved the romantic storyline, sweet hero and hot love scene and SHHHWEEET ending. MUST KEEP book!
March 22, 2017
My expectations were too high for this book. A second chance HP where the hero is celibate during the separation and the heroine actually has a job?! I should have realized Penny Jordan would screw it up somehow.
Jaime was the typical Penny Jordan heroine (small, red haired, barely strings three words together when it matters, easily bullied, never eats) and I wanted to shake her every time she nearly fainted or closed her eyes while being overcome with emotion.
Jake was an ass ( I still can't believe he called her out of her name the first night he saw her after months of her avoiding him). He bullied and insulted her at every turn. The fake OW/OM drama was tired (Wanda, Ralph, and Amanda were plot conveniences) and Mark's heart condition didn't have any emotional impact.
Jaime was the typical Penny Jordan heroine (small, red haired, barely strings three words together when it matters, easily bullied, never eats) and I wanted to shake her every time she nearly fainted or closed her eyes while being overcome with emotion.
Jake was an ass ( I still can't believe he called her out of her name the first night he saw her after months of her avoiding him). He bullied and insulted her at every turn. The fake OW/OM drama was tired (Wanda, Ralph, and Amanda were plot conveniences) and Mark's heart condition didn't have any emotional impact.
August 21, 2015
When Wanda tells eighteen-year-old Jamie that stepbrother Jake only wants to marry her for her inheritance from her stepfather, Jamie flees to London to begin a new life as an interior decorator. Instead of yelling at him for being a no good, Wanda-banging money-grubbing liar, she crafts a distant ‘Dear Jake, not ready for marriage, off to have a career, laters’ letter. She tears up his reply unread.
After six years of mutual sulking, Jake demands marriage because stepfather Mark is mortally ill, and only the promise of seeing his son settled, with the promise of immanent progeny, will sustain him until he can have new drugs. Jamie reluctantly agrees, because sacrificing herself for the happiness of others is incredibly seductive. Plus, she’ll get awesome sex with the man she loves, and six years is a long dry spell.
This is stepbrother romance 90s style which means that, rather than recoiling in horror and yelling ‘incest demons!’ when Jamie and Jake announce their engagement, their parents are super happy. Sure, Jamie eventually mutters about not doing something that seems a bit incesty, but nobody’s supposed to get off on the taboo. No one’s worried about what the neighbours will say, or slimy headlines in crappy magazines that will somehow destroy the billionaire dad’s often slightly evil schemes. Given that’s now what I expect from stepbrother romance, it’s a bit of a letdown that Jake isn’t a tattooed bad boy that Jamie just can’t resist, even though he’s a bit thick and acts really entitled all the time.
It’s all very English, which means there’s also this underlying snobbishness. Jamie assumes that Jake has had mistresses in their six-year break, but none of them were ‘the right sort’ for marriage. Inheritance is a thing. The factory employees aren’t quite tipping their hats and being all ‘heaven’s bless you, guv’ when Jamie and Jake attend the work Christmas party, but it’s detectable as an underlying tone.
I also had to consciously attempt to set aside my suspicion that Jake had a thing for teenage girls, especially because at the beginning of the book he’s apparently dating a girl of nineteen. He’s thirty-two. Yes, I’m sure some nineteen year olds are really mature, but no. Just, no.
While I appreciate a good long sulk, Jamie’s a bit of a misery of a character. She’s all stressed about being hard-nosed businesswoman, with her skinny suits and nice nails, and trying to make it look like she’s loving it even when she’s not. Oh, and her job is applying the type of paint effects to walls that home makeover shows now love to sneer at.
And Jake never comes across as very engaging, because while there are hints that he cares about Jamie, the story relies on him being convincing as arrogant and awful until the end.
The ending is very sweet, and a satisfying pay off after all the misery Jamie and Jake have inflicted on themselves and each other.
After six years of mutual sulking, Jake demands marriage because stepfather Mark is mortally ill, and only the promise of seeing his son settled, with the promise of immanent progeny, will sustain him until he can have new drugs. Jamie reluctantly agrees, because sacrificing herself for the happiness of others is incredibly seductive. Plus, she’ll get awesome sex with the man she loves, and six years is a long dry spell.
This is stepbrother romance 90s style which means that, rather than recoiling in horror and yelling ‘incest demons!’ when Jamie and Jake announce their engagement, their parents are super happy. Sure, Jamie eventually mutters about not doing something that seems a bit incesty, but nobody’s supposed to get off on the taboo. No one’s worried about what the neighbours will say, or slimy headlines in crappy magazines that will somehow destroy the billionaire dad’s often slightly evil schemes. Given that’s now what I expect from stepbrother romance, it’s a bit of a letdown that Jake isn’t a tattooed bad boy that Jamie just can’t resist, even though he’s a bit thick and acts really entitled all the time.
It’s all very English, which means there’s also this underlying snobbishness. Jamie assumes that Jake has had mistresses in their six-year break, but none of them were ‘the right sort’ for marriage. Inheritance is a thing. The factory employees aren’t quite tipping their hats and being all ‘heaven’s bless you, guv’ when Jamie and Jake attend the work Christmas party, but it’s detectable as an underlying tone.
I also had to consciously attempt to set aside my suspicion that Jake had a thing for teenage girls, especially because at the beginning of the book he’s apparently dating a girl of nineteen. He’s thirty-two. Yes, I’m sure some nineteen year olds are really mature, but no. Just, no.
While I appreciate a good long sulk, Jamie’s a bit of a misery of a character. She’s all stressed about being hard-nosed businesswoman, with her skinny suits and nice nails, and trying to make it look like she’s loving it even when she’s not. Oh, and her job is applying the type of paint effects to walls that home makeover shows now love to sneer at.
And Jake never comes across as very engaging, because while there are hints that he cares about Jamie, the story relies on him being convincing as arrogant and awful until the end.
The ending is very sweet, and a satisfying pay off after all the misery Jamie and Jake have inflicted on themselves and each other.
July 14, 2023
Sigh...another perceived cheating scenario\misunderstanding\fleeing woman...occurred in the book I read prior.What is happening?? Dear God,where is the on page cheating??😂😂😂
This was ott,dated...but ended up cute HEA.
This was ott,dated...but ended up cute HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2022
He is tender and nice. Very sweet, very loving.
And she is annoying and b*tchy. I take one star off for the h, so 4 stars.
And she is annoying and b*tchy. I take one star off for the h, so 4 stars.
July 28, 2021
What we have here is a failure to communicate!(SHOCKING I KNOW!)
Jamie, Heroine-24- She is the step sister to the hero. She and the hero have been very close. She was 3 and the hero 11 when their parents married. Both parents are still alive and they are/were happy. At the age of 18, the H and the virgin h became lovers and had a spoken/unspoken vow to marry. Then of course the evil ow makes an appearance and the h walks out of the hero and her family’s life, decides to become a cool collected career woman.
Tells the H in a letter that she doesn’t want marriage and its trappings, then proceeds to spend the next 6 years avoiding him and her very loving parents.
Jake, Hero-32- Never went after the h, BUT he did write her a letter🙄(she tore it up unread). He is now engaged to a 19 year old(a business venture’s daughter). The heroine and the H cross paths again when they are both invited to the dinner party of a mutual cousin. He shows up with the fiance, who becomes smitten with the heroine. After introductions the H seeks the h out in the kitchen where she faints and he carries her to the bedroom.
Amanda, Ow#1(not evil)-She is 19 years old is feeling pressured to marry the hero by him and her dad. She wants a career like the h(who really wanted the family route) and actually seeks the h out to help her. She is really a non ow and only offered some temporary angst. The h helps her and now the H wants retribution for the broken engagement.
You see the stepdad is not doing well. He has always wanted the H to settle down and have an heir, and was really hoping his stepdaughter would be the son’s bride. The H has guilted the h into going to the family home for Christmas since she has been absent and she owes this to the sick stepdad. 10 minutes before arriving at the home he pulls over and puts an engagement ring(the one that they picked out 6 years before) puts it on her finger and tells her they are engaged.
They arrive at the family home, the parents are overjoyed and the Hero’s dad even seems to have a spark in his health. The family pushes for a quick wedding(the h thought that there would only be a fake engagement). She and the H are married and off to Switzerland for 3 weeks where the H likes to ski and they can have a proper honeymoon. The passion with these 2 is pretty strong and quite sexy. The H curls the the h’s toes, and in the process finds out that the h has never taken another lover(our H’s like it when they know they have been the h’s first and only lover). While in Switzerland, who should she see but the hero walking in with the original OW who caused the separation to begin with. They look pretty chummy.
Wanda, Evil OW(reformed)- The ow is happily married and pregnant. She natters away at the luncheon while the h gets angrier and angrier. After the luncheon, the h and H have a row. He leaves to ski. Then who should show up at the h’s door? The reformed ow….. Gives the h some truth telling basically absolving the Hero of any wrong doing.
So now our h has some thinking to do. She has pretty much given the H the impression that she would rather be burned at the stake then have him touch her again. Luck would have it that her mom calls to shed some more light. Happy sigh to the mom’s knowledge.
Now the h put a plan in motion to seduce her husband who has basically loved her forever!
The seduction works. In fact, the h rocks the H’s world like he rocked hers the night before. It was steamy. He wonders about the change of heart, and the h tells the H all she learned and why she fled. The H was shocked at the information and wanted to ring her neck for all the wasted years. So the question is why didn’t he go after her since supposedly he knew she saw the kiss? Well, once again we have an author who pulls the, “ you were so young, I thought it was only fair to give you time on your own, knowing we would be together some day!” I’m sorry, but he should have done more than a letter. However, he gets massive points for his hidden dedication to the h including self imposed celibacy.
This may have been a 4 star read had I not read A Reason for Being right before this one. I thought that one was done better(it involved step cousins) My biggest problem with this book is that it was unnecessarily longer than it needed to be. I know that PJ has to have her heroines with their inner monologue, and usually I’m ok with it. However, the same inner monologue over and over got a little tedious.
Here’s a sample:
“She missed the wide open spaces of the Dales, the warmth of the people and going back would only reinforce her dissatisfaction. But what alternative was there? She could find enough work to keep her busy in Yorkshire, she knew that, but moving home meant moving back into Jake's orbit, and that was something she couldn't endure. She only had to see him to be consumed by a soul-destroying mix of contempt and despair; to ache for him in a way that shamed her self-respect and left her wishing she had never seen him with Wanda, never listened to the other woman's revelations. If she had married him...”
Over and over she second guesses her choices and bemoans the fact that things could have been different if she hadn’t known….seriously there are paragraphs and paragraphs of the same dialogue.
However, in the end they have a nice HEA with the H telling the h that she should keep on working if she enjoys it, and she’s like “I’d much rather embrace family life and maybe have a small sponge painting business on the side”
Jamie, Heroine-24- She is the step sister to the hero. She and the hero have been very close. She was 3 and the hero 11 when their parents married. Both parents are still alive and they are/were happy. At the age of 18, the H and the virgin h became lovers and had a spoken/unspoken vow to marry. Then of course the evil ow makes an appearance and the h walks out of the hero and her family’s life, decides to become a cool collected career woman.
Tells the H in a letter that she doesn’t want marriage and its trappings, then proceeds to spend the next 6 years avoiding him and her very loving parents.
Jake, Hero-32- Never went after the h, BUT he did write her a letter🙄(she tore it up unread). He is now engaged to a 19 year old(a business venture’s daughter). The heroine and the H cross paths again when they are both invited to the dinner party of a mutual cousin. He shows up with the fiance, who becomes smitten with the heroine. After introductions the H seeks the h out in the kitchen where she faints and he carries her to the bedroom.
Amanda, Ow#1(not evil)-She is 19 years old is feeling pressured to marry the hero by him and her dad. She wants a career like the h(who really wanted the family route) and actually seeks the h out to help her. She is really a non ow and only offered some temporary angst. The h helps her and now the H wants retribution for the broken engagement.
You see the stepdad is not doing well. He has always wanted the H to settle down and have an heir, and was really hoping his stepdaughter would be the son’s bride. The H has guilted the h into going to the family home for Christmas since she has been absent and she owes this to the sick stepdad. 10 minutes before arriving at the home he pulls over and puts an engagement ring(the one that they picked out 6 years before) puts it on her finger and tells her they are engaged.
They arrive at the family home, the parents are overjoyed and the Hero’s dad even seems to have a spark in his health. The family pushes for a quick wedding(the h thought that there would only be a fake engagement). She and the H are married and off to Switzerland for 3 weeks where the H likes to ski and they can have a proper honeymoon. The passion with these 2 is pretty strong and quite sexy. The H curls the the h’s toes, and in the process finds out that the h has never taken another lover(our H’s like it when they know they have been the h’s first and only lover). While in Switzerland, who should she see but the hero walking in with the original OW who caused the separation to begin with. They look pretty chummy.
Wanda, Evil OW(reformed)- The ow is happily married and pregnant. She natters away at the luncheon while the h gets angrier and angrier. After the luncheon, the h and H have a row. He leaves to ski. Then who should show up at the h’s door? The reformed ow….. Gives the h some truth telling basically absolving the Hero of any wrong doing.
So now our h has some thinking to do. She has pretty much given the H the impression that she would rather be burned at the stake then have him touch her again. Luck would have it that her mom calls to shed some more light. Happy sigh to the mom’s knowledge.
Now the h put a plan in motion to seduce her husband who has basically loved her forever!
The seduction works. In fact, the h rocks the H’s world like he rocked hers the night before. It was steamy. He wonders about the change of heart, and the h tells the H all she learned and why she fled. The H was shocked at the information and wanted to ring her neck for all the wasted years. So the question is why didn’t he go after her since supposedly he knew she saw the kiss? Well, once again we have an author who pulls the, “ you were so young, I thought it was only fair to give you time on your own, knowing we would be together some day!” I’m sorry, but he should have done more than a letter. However, he gets massive points for his hidden dedication to the h including self imposed celibacy.
This may have been a 4 star read had I not read A Reason for Being right before this one. I thought that one was done better(it involved step cousins) My biggest problem with this book is that it was unnecessarily longer than it needed to be. I know that PJ has to have her heroines with their inner monologue, and usually I’m ok with it. However, the same inner monologue over and over got a little tedious.
Here’s a sample:
“She missed the wide open spaces of the Dales, the warmth of the people and going back would only reinforce her dissatisfaction. But what alternative was there? She could find enough work to keep her busy in Yorkshire, she knew that, but moving home meant moving back into Jake's orbit, and that was something she couldn't endure. She only had to see him to be consumed by a soul-destroying mix of contempt and despair; to ache for him in a way that shamed her self-respect and left her wishing she had never seen him with Wanda, never listened to the other woman's revelations. If she had married him...”
Over and over she second guesses her choices and bemoans the fact that things could have been different if she hadn’t known….seriously there are paragraphs and paragraphs of the same dialogue.
However, in the end they have a nice HEA with the H telling the h that she should keep on working if she enjoys it, and she’s like “I’d much rather embrace family life and maybe have a small sponge painting business on the side”
March 5, 2019
3,5 stars
August 5, 2016
A good read.
Lots of passion and sexual tension between old lovers Jake and Jamie. Their relationship had been a secret or so she thought, as they were/are step siblings. But we find out that the parents knew from Jake and had been hoping for marriage. As no marriage happened they have kept their mouths shut still hoping that things would get straightened out.
Jamie tries to make the best of being thrown in Jake's presence because according to everyone, he is on the verge of marrying a young woman. Liking the young woman Jamie tries to put all feeling for Jake away forever. But getting rid of love is tough. The young woman also likes Jamie and flees to her when the pressure from family to marry Jake gets to be too much. Helping the young woman stand her ground brings an angry Jake storming into her life claiming she owes him a bride.
Pressure from Jake and her beloved stepdad's illness forces Jamie into agreeing to marry Jake. Feeling upset they depart for their honeymoon only to encounter the other lover from six years before. Seeing them friendly and smiling at each makes Jamie even more hurt and upset.....that even some hot sex doesn't relieve her pain.
Jake has really not tried to explain anything to her and has just been mean. Finally realizing how much he has hurt her, he confesses all. Everything had been a lie to trick her back into his life. Jake was getting desperate as she would have nothing to do with him or let anyone talk about him. He has loved only her all these lonely years.
A nice romance. His devotion to her is sweet but how he went about it was hurtful. Her not listening and just shutting him out was pretty childish. She did not leave him with many choices. The amazing thing is that he still loved her at all!
Lots of passion and sexual tension between old lovers Jake and Jamie. Their relationship had been a secret or so she thought, as they were/are step siblings. But we find out that the parents knew from Jake and had been hoping for marriage. As no marriage happened they have kept their mouths shut still hoping that things would get straightened out.
Jamie tries to make the best of being thrown in Jake's presence because according to everyone, he is on the verge of marrying a young woman. Liking the young woman Jamie tries to put all feeling for Jake away forever. But getting rid of love is tough. The young woman also likes Jamie and flees to her when the pressure from family to marry Jake gets to be too much. Helping the young woman stand her ground brings an angry Jake storming into her life claiming she owes him a bride.
Pressure from Jake and her beloved stepdad's illness forces Jamie into agreeing to marry Jake. Feeling upset they depart for their honeymoon only to encounter the other lover from six years before. Seeing them friendly and smiling at each makes Jamie even more hurt and upset.....that even some hot sex doesn't relieve her pain.
Jake has really not tried to explain anything to her and has just been mean. Finally realizing how much he has hurt her, he confesses all. Everything had been a lie to trick her back into his life. Jake was getting desperate as she would have nothing to do with him or let anyone talk about him. He has loved only her all these lonely years.
A nice romance. His devotion to her is sweet but how he went about it was hurtful. Her not listening and just shutting him out was pretty childish. She did not leave him with many choices. The amazing thing is that he still loved her at all!
November 11, 2017
3 1/2 - 4 star rating.
It's weird to admit it but I really enjoyed this read. As a forced romance/seduction it almost kinda worked. However there were a few ideas in there that I couldn't quite grasp but in fairness this was written some 33yrs ago. As a second chance romance there's definitely a few areas that I would have liked to see played differently.
Jake was Jamie's childhood hero, who became her step brother and then lover. It was when they were supposed to be at their strongest that they became nemeses. Eventually they would become husband and wife but it's all that turmoil in between that I really, really liked.
Jake is 8yrs older. He's definitely more worldly and I think even he knew, in the budding of their first romance, that Jamie was not yet ready for his idea of commitment. Which is made blatantly obvious when she ran away for 6yrs hiding behind her successful career and need for independence. But when tragedy strikes Jake breaks down her walls and forces her to see their reality.
I want to add more but I don't want to give to much away. A small word of advice would be to watch out for the trap of old romance connotations in this book. I like to believe that romance and the art of wooing has evolved somewhat but in case you are a Women's Liberation advocate, you have been warned.
It's weird to admit it but I really enjoyed this read. As a forced romance/seduction it almost kinda worked. However there were a few ideas in there that I couldn't quite grasp but in fairness this was written some 33yrs ago. As a second chance romance there's definitely a few areas that I would have liked to see played differently.
Jake was Jamie's childhood hero, who became her step brother and then lover. It was when they were supposed to be at their strongest that they became nemeses. Eventually they would become husband and wife but it's all that turmoil in between that I really, really liked.
Jake is 8yrs older. He's definitely more worldly and I think even he knew, in the budding of their first romance, that Jamie was not yet ready for his idea of commitment. Which is made blatantly obvious when she ran away for 6yrs hiding behind her successful career and need for independence. But when tragedy strikes Jake breaks down her walls and forces her to see their reality.
I want to add more but I don't want to give to much away. A small word of advice would be to watch out for the trap of old romance connotations in this book. I like to believe that romance and the art of wooing has evolved somewhat but in case you are a Women's Liberation advocate, you have been warned.
April 16, 2015
I love reading harlequin's by Penny Jordan, you can always find the right kind of angst and longing in each one. I was a bit hesitant with reading this one first, as the synopsis implied some kind of 'cheating', but a las it wasn't. As with any of Penny Jordan romance you just get a boatload of misunderstanding. But, how she writes and how she draws you in , in each and every book I have read, never ceases to amaze me.
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The is a second chance story of step siblings who had a great deal of history. Six years later they come together and drama ensues- harlequin style..
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The is a second chance story of step siblings who had a great deal of history. Six years later they come together and drama ensues- harlequin style..
April 23, 2012
I love this kind of Penny Jordan book -- hero and heroine secretly in love (in this one, not secretly in the past, but secretly in the present) since childhood, then a reunion. Great emotional tension and angst, lots of subtle glimpses (missed by the heroine, of course) that the hero is totally smitten. Somewhat novel conclusion in that the heroine realizes that the hero loves her and has to convince him that she loves him. Overall, I really enjoyed it.
March 16, 2017
Jamie, the h annoyed me.
She ran off from the guy she loved because some random chick told her that the H didn't love her, he was just marrying her to gain his father's company. She was soooo traumatized that she refused to have ANYTHING to do with the love of her life for SIX YEARS until he bullied her into marrying him.
It was a sweet story, but also an annoying one. The h's stupidity and the H's arrogance make them perfect for each other. Still, I was entertained.
She ran off from the guy she loved because some random chick told her that the H didn't love her, he was just marrying her to gain his father's company. She was soooo traumatized that she refused to have ANYTHING to do with the love of her life for SIX YEARS until he bullied her into marrying him.
It was a sweet story, but also an annoying one. The h's stupidity and the H's arrogance make them perfect for each other. Still, I was entertained.
May 11, 2012
A lovely story of childhood sweethearts who are reunited later in life, both believing the other didn't care...but who are obviously madly in love.
February 5, 2015
favorite kind of plot line, good book. Not going in all time favorite pile though.
August 30, 2016
Dis-communication is frustrating.
February 14, 2023
This was a short hoopla read featuring a second chance, miscommunication-via-lies trope. Jamie and Jake are stepsiblings, whose parents have been together since Jamie was a toddler. While stepsibling romances don't generally squick me out, stepsiblings who were raised together, kinda do. I know Jake was older than her, by something like 8 years, which was supposed to explain how they weren't close growing up -- but that kind of made it worse for me. Who falls for a 16-year-old when they're 24?
Don't answer that.
And the parents are all kinds of thrilled about the romance which made it weirder for me.
Anyway, Jamie and Jake had a brief affair that was going to lead to marriage when she was 18. Only Jamie was told by a woman she later found him kissing (the back of the book says she found them in bed together, btw) that he only wanted to marry her for... something-something-father's-inheritance... something-something-company. It wasn't fleshed out and never quite made sense since his rich daddy was giving him the company anyway. So apparently after finding him kissing another woman, she Dear Johns him out of pride, telling him she wants to concentrate on her career -- which doesn't make sense 'cause, didn't he know he kissed another woman?
Again, make it make sense.
The book is entirely told from Jamie's perspective, which I know some readers don't like, but I do, since in real life, we only get our own perspective and it makes silly miscommunications seem a little more realistic. Then again, Jamie's the kind of twit that walks half a mile barefoot in snow, and then wonders why her feet feel funny. (Seriously, Penny, that scene would have worked just fine if Jamie had kept her shoes on and you would have kept your heroine from seeming literally TSTL.)
It's obvious to anyone who reads romance that Jake has no clue why Jamie really left him, which again seemed weird to me since, you know that OW kissed you, right? Right? But once the opportunity presents itself, he has no problem using his dying father's illness to guilt Jamie into marriage. (It's cool though, there's a miraculous treatment waiting in the last chapter, so dying father isn't really dying, and a happy ending is had by all.)
It was nice to read a 30-40 year old romance where the hero genuinely loved the heroine (even if his actions, per most 80s/90s Harley requirements, were pretty sus), but the motivations all around were pretty shaky. Jamie is a true Harley twit of a heroine, in that she faints into the hero's arms when she gets emotional, keeps giving him hot/cold signals, and doesn't, ya know, use her words. And while Jake did spend the whole time pining for Jamie (Lord knows why), the fact that his only concession toward getting his woman back after she found him kissing someone else, consisted of a letter (which we never find out the contents of) and both the OW and Jamie's mother had to be used to convince Jamie he'd been carrying a torch for her that whole time. Then there's the 19-year-old he manipulated at the beginning of the novel that I haven't even really mentioned. It was all a little weaksauce, sir.
Then again, I tend to read Jordan for the WTF factor rather than the romance, so I still had fun with it. I probably won't look to buy it, or re-read it at any point, but it was fun enough to spend time on.
Don't answer that.
And the parents are all kinds of thrilled about the romance which made it weirder for me.
Anyway, Jamie and Jake had a brief affair that was going to lead to marriage when she was 18. Only Jamie was told by a woman she later found him kissing (the back of the book says she found them in bed together, btw) that he only wanted to marry her for... something-something-father's-inheritance... something-something-company. It wasn't fleshed out and never quite made sense since his rich daddy was giving him the company anyway. So apparently after finding him kissing another woman, she Dear Johns him out of pride, telling him she wants to concentrate on her career -- which doesn't make sense 'cause, didn't he know he kissed another woman?
Again, make it make sense.
The book is entirely told from Jamie's perspective, which I know some readers don't like, but I do, since in real life, we only get our own perspective and it makes silly miscommunications seem a little more realistic. Then again, Jamie's the kind of twit that walks half a mile barefoot in snow, and then wonders why her feet feel funny. (Seriously, Penny, that scene would have worked just fine if Jamie had kept her shoes on and you would have kept your heroine from seeming literally TSTL.)
It's obvious to anyone who reads romance that Jake has no clue why Jamie really left him, which again seemed weird to me since, you know that OW kissed you, right? Right? But once the opportunity presents itself, he has no problem using his dying father's illness to guilt Jamie into marriage. (It's cool though, there's a miraculous treatment waiting in the last chapter, so dying father isn't really dying, and a happy ending is had by all.)
It was nice to read a 30-40 year old romance where the hero genuinely loved the heroine (even if his actions, per most 80s/90s Harley requirements, were pretty sus), but the motivations all around were pretty shaky. Jamie is a true Harley twit of a heroine, in that she faints into the hero's arms when she gets emotional, keeps giving him hot/cold signals, and doesn't, ya know, use her words. And while Jake did spend the whole time pining for Jamie (Lord knows why), the fact that his only concession toward getting his woman back after she found him kissing someone else, consisted of a letter (which we never find out the contents of) and both the OW and Jamie's mother had to be used to convince Jamie he'd been carrying a torch for her that whole time. Then there's the 19-year-old he manipulated at the beginning of the novel that I haven't even really mentioned. It was all a little weaksauce, sir.
Then again, I tend to read Jordan for the WTF factor rather than the romance, so I still had fun with it. I probably won't look to buy it, or re-read it at any point, but it was fun enough to spend time on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 14, 2023Heat Factor: On a rug in front of a roaring fire at a ski chalet.
Character Chemistry: How do you feel about consent? Because Jake is not into it.
Plot: Jamie is convinced that Jake doesn’t love her, so she keeps her distance to protect her heart. And then he forces her to marry him.
Overall: Everything about this book is icky.
Let’s get this out of the way: this is a stepsibling romance between two people who have been raised as brother and sister since they were three (Jamie) and eleven (Jake). Note the significant age gap. There is definitely a market for stepsibling romance, complete with domineering much older stepbrother, but my understanding of taboo romance is that it’s sexy precisely because it plays with the ick-factor. In this case, there is no ick-factor. On the contrary, everyone surrounding Jamie and Jake find it normal and desirable for them to fall in love and get married; in fact, Jamie’s beloved stepfather tells her point blank that it’s what he’s always wanted for them. (Remember: Jamie was three when the family was blended.) The romance is not taboo at all in its presentation, and that makes the entire dynamic between Jamie and Jake gross.
So yes. I am yucking some yums here.
Read our full review at The Smut Report
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Character Chemistry: How do you feel about consent? Because Jake is not into it.
Plot: Jamie is convinced that Jake doesn’t love her, so she keeps her distance to protect her heart. And then he forces her to marry him.
Overall: Everything about this book is icky.
Let’s get this out of the way: this is a stepsibling romance between two people who have been raised as brother and sister since they were three (Jamie) and eleven (Jake). Note the significant age gap. There is definitely a market for stepsibling romance, complete with domineering much older stepbrother, but my understanding of taboo romance is that it’s sexy precisely because it plays with the ick-factor. In this case, there is no ick-factor. On the contrary, everyone surrounding Jamie and Jake find it normal and desirable for them to fall in love and get married; in fact, Jamie’s beloved stepfather tells her point blank that it’s what he’s always wanted for them. (Remember: Jamie was three when the family was blended.) The romance is not taboo at all in its presentation, and that makes the entire dynamic between Jamie and Jake gross.
So yes. I am yucking some yums here.
Read our full review at The Smut Report
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
October 8, 2020
This one is so unlike any of the other Penny Jordan's I've read!
Everything you want in it, miss understandings, love teasing, the woman taking charge near the end.
Happy ending with people actually explaining everything at the end too.
Loved it perfect story. With all the mushy revealing at the end.
Everything you want in it, miss understandings, love teasing, the woman taking charge near the end.
Happy ending with people actually explaining everything at the end too.
Loved it perfect story. With all the mushy revealing at the end.
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