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A Painful Loving
He made it clear just what he was after... — Maybe everyone else on Lakades, including Kara Lincroft's sister who insisted she visit, thought Aleko Tranakas the perfect antidote for a young widow's loneliness and grief. But not Kara. — She didn't want an affair, least of all with a practiced womanizer whose seductive charms reminded her of her husband. She wouldn't make that mistake again!
Despite Aleko's talents for stirring dormant fires, Kara believed that she could spend two weeks on his tiny, enchanted Greek island without falling under his spell and into his bed. How wrong she was...
Despite Aleko's talents for stirring dormant fires, Kara believed that she could spend two weeks on his tiny, enchanted Greek island without falling under his spell and into his bed. How wrong she was...
- GenresHarlequin Presents
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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22 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Mayo
348 books46 followersThere is more than one author with this name
For Children's writer see Margaret Mayo
Jessica R. Mayo was born on February 7, 1936 in Staffordshire, England, and has remained within the county all of her life. It was never her ambition to become a writer, although she always loved reading, even to the extent of reading comics out loud to her twin brother when she was eight years old. In fact her only writing experience was in letters to various pen pals around the world. She unfortunately lost touch with them now and often wonders whether any of them have ever discovered that her chatty letters were the forerunner to her writing career.
She left school to become a secretary, taking a break to have her two children, Adrian and Tina. Once they were at school she started back to work and planned to further her career by becoming a bi-lingual secretary. Unfortunately she couldn't speak any languages other than her native English, so she began evening classes. It was at this time that she got the idea for a romantic short story - to this day she doesn't know where the idea came from or why, but she thanks her lucky stars because it kick-started her career. Margaret, and her mother before her, had always read Mills & Boon romances, and to actually be writing one excited her beyond measure.
'My life began at forty' is another one of her favourite sayings - because that is when her first book was published - two and a half years after she first set pen to paper (that first book was written long before she felt confident enough to send it off).Having those books accepted was the happiest and most exciting day of her life. She waltzed her husband around the room and their two children thought they'd gone mad, until they were told the good news.
Her first two submitted novels were accepted simultaneously, and now she has over sixty-five to her credit. When she looks at them lined up on her bookshelf she wonders how she has managed to write all those millions of words. She is a hopeless romantic who loves writing. She falls in love with every one of her heroes and likes to boast about how many 'love affairs' she's had.
Margaret gets so immersed in her writing that one day - before she made writing her full-time career and did most of her writing at the office (!!) - her daughter phoned to ask whether she could come and meet her out of work. Margaret told her not to be silly because it was foggy. Her daughter said 'But it's sunny here.' And when Margaret looked out of the window the sun was shining. Her hero and heroine were lost out in a sea of fog!
Before she became a successful author Margaret was extremely shy and found it difficult to talk to strangers. For research purposes she forced herself to speak to people from all walks of life and now says her shyness has gone forever - to a certain degree. She is still happier pouring her thoughts out on paper.
Copied from Fantastic Fiction
For Children's writer see Margaret Mayo
Jessica R. Mayo was born on February 7, 1936 in Staffordshire, England, and has remained within the county all of her life. It was never her ambition to become a writer, although she always loved reading, even to the extent of reading comics out loud to her twin brother when she was eight years old. In fact her only writing experience was in letters to various pen pals around the world. She unfortunately lost touch with them now and often wonders whether any of them have ever discovered that her chatty letters were the forerunner to her writing career.
She left school to become a secretary, taking a break to have her two children, Adrian and Tina. Once they were at school she started back to work and planned to further her career by becoming a bi-lingual secretary. Unfortunately she couldn't speak any languages other than her native English, so she began evening classes. It was at this time that she got the idea for a romantic short story - to this day she doesn't know where the idea came from or why, but she thanks her lucky stars because it kick-started her career. Margaret, and her mother before her, had always read Mills & Boon romances, and to actually be writing one excited her beyond measure.
'My life began at forty' is another one of her favourite sayings - because that is when her first book was published - two and a half years after she first set pen to paper (that first book was written long before she felt confident enough to send it off).Having those books accepted was the happiest and most exciting day of her life. She waltzed her husband around the room and their two children thought they'd gone mad, until they were told the good news.
Her first two submitted novels were accepted simultaneously, and now she has over sixty-five to her credit. When she looks at them lined up on her bookshelf she wonders how she has managed to write all those millions of words. She is a hopeless romantic who loves writing. She falls in love with every one of her heroes and likes to boast about how many 'love affairs' she's had.
Margaret gets so immersed in her writing that one day - before she made writing her full-time career and did most of her writing at the office (!!) - her daughter phoned to ask whether she could come and meet her out of work. Margaret told her not to be silly because it was foggy. Her daughter said 'But it's sunny here.' And when Margaret looked out of the window the sun was shining. Her hero and heroine were lost out in a sea of fog!
Before she became a successful author Margaret was extremely shy and found it difficult to talk to strangers. For research purposes she forced herself to speak to people from all walks of life and now says her shyness has gone forever - to a certain degree. She is still happier pouring her thoughts out on paper.
Copied from Fantastic Fiction
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 19, 2017
A Painful Loving was kind of painful to read in parts. I did not like the H or the h or even the secondary characters. The H Aleko was a really shady Greek who seemed to derive enjoyment from playing it hot and cold with the h. The h Kara was a widow with very compelling sexual urges that mostly blinded her to the H's douchebag tendencies (for someone who's wary of players like her late husband; she capitulated pretty early on). And I just did not feel the love between the two.
The secondary characters were worse. The h's sister Sharon was a spoilt brat with frequent temper tantrums (who probably even lied about being pregnant) and the H's brother was an indecisive moron who couldn't figure out till the very end who he actually wanted - Sharon or his childhood sweetheart. Their story was a subplot I could have done without.
This is my first book from this author and I have to say, I'm certainly not keen on trying out any other titles from her anytime soon. Two stars!
The secondary characters were worse. The h's sister Sharon was a spoilt brat with frequent temper tantrums (who probably even lied about being pregnant) and the H's brother was an indecisive moron who couldn't figure out till the very end who he actually wanted - Sharon or his childhood sweetheart. Their story was a subplot I could have done without.
This is my first book from this author and I have to say, I'm certainly not keen on trying out any other titles from her anytime soon. Two stars!
October 19, 2016
Re A Painful Loving - MM brings us a LOT of wrecky drama complete with sulky little sisters and a Greek Alpha who is srsly handsome and turns srsly mean. There is presumed preggerness, OW and seekrit engagements and MM even manages to work in a spot of blackmail. If you like your H's to be mean and bossy in the style of Margaret Pargeter or Lilian Peake, or if you like the REALLY old skool kinda romance angry H drama, this may be a book for you.
The story starts with the h going to a small Greek Island on holiday. The h's sister is a nanny of twins and she works for a couple who are the employees of the local Greek vineyard owner. The sister has invited the h to spend some time on the island and the family she works for has graciously offered the h a room in their home for the visit.
The h is looking forward to some sun and the beach, the last few years have been very hard for her. The h is petite pocket Venus and a widow. She is not too keen on men either, she fell madly in love and married a huge womanizer and had her heart shattered when she discovered his numerous infidelities when he died. It has taken her two years to climb out of the emotional hole her dead slime crawler has left her in and she holds all men at a distance, cause she is afraid to trust again.
The story opens with the h waiting at the airport for her flight. She sees a man across the concourse and her heart almost stops. From a distance and in profile, the man looks just like her dead slime lurker. The man even acts like him too. She watches with bitter cynicism as he collides with a beautiful woman and then spends several minutes charming the frown off of her face. It looks like contact information may have been exchanged and as the man blithely moves on, the h reflects that her dead slime crawler had that same kind of charm.
It was a very similar scenario that netted the h in his seductive and destructive web and the h angrily regrets ever giving in to such a shallow egoist of a man. The h boards her flight and when it lands, the charming guy is on the plane too. There are limited taxis available and when the charmer offers to share his with her, the man's natural assumption that she would fall at his feet irks her to no end and the h refuses. Charmer Guy notices the ring on her finger and indifferently take the cab himself. The h has a long wait and thinks rather indignantly that a real gentleman would have at least let her have the cab while he waited for the next one.
The h arrives at the little island eventually and is warmly welcomed by her hosts. The husband is a marketer for wines and is doing an intensive training course in the local office of the wealthy vintner. The man will eventually take over the management of the vintner's office in England, the wines need more British promotion and his wife is a skilled secretary and helps the vintner out in his office. The sister is sorta happy to see the h, but she is also rather distant about some things and appears to be a bit standoffish.
The h is looking forward to dinner and the rest of her holiday when the wife informs her that the vintner they work for is coming to dinner too. The h prepares herself to be a gracious guest, but is shocked out her size four shoes when the guest is Charmer Guy from the airport. The h is even more appalled when she realizes that she is physically responding to the man's looks, even though facially he looks nothing like the dead slime lurker. Things get much worse for the h when Charming Guy makes no secret of his physical attraction back - he is kissing the h's hand like he never wants to let go and devouring her with his eyes. The h's body is gearing up for passion, but her brain is horrified and ready to burst in appalled disgust.
The H manages to maneuver the h into accompanying him around. The sister remains distant and stand-offish and the h is worried, but she holds her peace and hopes the sister will eventually reveal what is troubling her. Meanwhile the H and h are doing the Corfu HP travelogue and as the h gets to know the H, she begins to believe that Charmer Guy isn't all he is. She begins to think there is actually a caring and decent person with a hint of possessiveness behind his charming persona. The H makes no secret that he wants the h and yet he is pretty understanding when the h describes how she found out her slime lurker was cheating on her.
She was coming home from work one day and saw a car swerve to avoid a child and crash into a pole. The driver was killed instantly and when she opened the door, she realized it was her husband - the female passenger in the car seat next to him had very little clothing on under a full length coat and it was obvious that he was taking the woman home after an afternoon rendezvous at the his and the h's home. The h was devastated and it soon came out that the slime crawler had been crawling through innumerable sewers the whole time the h was married to him.
The H swears he is a faithful devoted kinda a guy, even when he is with a lady strictly for his "manly needs", he doesn't do multiple partners - it is a matter of personal honour. The H also admits that he was in love once himself, but the girl's family had arranged another marriage for her and when the girl's father had a heart attack when he found out about the H and the girl's love, he made the girl promise to marry the man he picked for her on his deathbed.
Because the girl and the H were both Greek and these promises had serious weight, they agreed to part and the girl married the man her father wanted and moved away with her new husband. The h is sympathetic to his plight and she decides that maybe men deserve a second chance, plus she is so aware of the H physically that they soon become lost on the swaying motion of the lurve club mojo. The h is delighted with her new lover and telling herself that she needed it for her badly damaged confidence, but also telling herself that this will just be a holiday affair.
Then she gets back to the house she is staying at and he sister confides that she has been seekritly dating the H's younger brother and she thinks she is preggers and when she told the lil brother, he got really upset. The h is a bit upset too, cause she knows for a fact that the H's brother is engaged to another Greek girl. The H took her to visit his cousin and the girl was there as well, and it seems both families are really all for the match. The h tells the sister that she wants to talk to the brother and then she suggests that her sister visit a doctor and confirm she is up the duff.
But the sister declines because it is hard to get off the island and basically makes a lot of excuses. The h is supposed to be joining the H and his family for dinner, but that invitation is dumped when the H shows up early and calls the h and her sister con artist, gold digging tarts and wants them off the island immediately. The h and he fight and there is angry punishing kisses and the h declares that no one is leaving the island and he is just another slime lurker.
The h and the sister meet with the H's brother on the beach, the h hasn't mentioned his engagement to her sister yet, she wants to talk to the young man first. The lil brother is confused about his feelings. The h tells him to do what is in his heart, but to make his own decisions, not let his brother do it for him. The sister is really petulant this whole time and swims out too far into the ocean and starts to drown, it appears that she tried to commit suicide but the brother jumps in and saves her.
They all part and the h and the sister return to the house they are staying at. The H insists that the h and her sister come for dinner and meet his parents a few days later, the sister REALLY gives the impression that she has an eye on the gold digging chance when she starts questioning the value of the objects in the house and making subtle references to her potential pregnancy over dinner. Then the H's mum drops the bombshell about her younger son being engaged to a lovely Greek girl. The sister looks white and the H and h go off to fight it out. The H decides that even tho the h is a gold digging tart and several other very unsavory words, she is still good for a club and he tries to get it on.
The h is physically very willing, but mentally holding him off and she finally manages to get away without a thorough love clubbing. She tells the H to jump fairly royally and takes her sister home. The sister pretty much collapses and passes it off as a virus that is going around. The h offers to watch the wife of the house's twins for the day while the wife helps the H in a secretarial capacity in his office. Then the sister gets really sick and she is completely distant and petulant to boot.
The wife has to stay home to watch her children and the H blackmails the h into helping in his work - the h is furious cause she was due to leave in a few day and she REALLY resents the nasty comments the H keeps making while he is trying to get her clothes off. The H calls the h's boss and gets her vacation extended and they spend some furious days in the office where the H proves he is a big meanie multiple times and the h is practically schizophrenic in her apologies for saying mean things alternating with verbal beratement. Finally the sister recovers and announces she isn't preggers after all and wants to go home. The brother of the H returns and announces that he and the Greek girl aren't marrying, he loves the sister and chooses to marry her. The h packs her bags to leave. The H is the one who takes her to the airport and when he tries to talk to her, the h shuts him down hard, gives him a pithy little lecture and tells him she never wants to see him again. She gets on the plane and goes home.
The h is slowly rebuilding her life, her job is fine, but she is an emotional wreck, cause she fell in love with the H and he treated her like the Harlot of Babylon but with even less respect and now she is having a long mopey moment. Two months go by and the sister and her new lil brother fiance come to England for a visit. The h is hoping to hear news of the H, cause he was scheduled to attend an English wine convention, but the sister has no news to offer. She is too busy planning her wedding instead.
The h gets home one day and the H is waiting in the garden. The h is overjoyed and runs to him and finally confesses her love. The H says he loves her back and does the sorta half-hearted Official HP H Non-Apology that manages to make it all the h's fault anyways, and then also seems genuinely remorseful over what he said about the sister. (In fact he seemed sorrier about saying mean things about the h's sister than he did about how he treated the h.) So it is all good between them now and the H suggests a double wedding in the rosy glow of the HP HEA.
This one is okay. The wrecki drama angst was good, the H was suitably nasty and the sister really did leave you wondering just what exactly her motivations were. I found the inclusion of the sister and her drama to be very original, but I felt she really did fake the pregger thing and probably really WAS a gold digger and I worried just what kind of problems she would cause for the h in the future.
I also did not totally buy into the H's love for the h. MM does the great ranty, rotten, angry H, but she usually fails to convince me that her H's really love their h's. She rarely has the H POV in her books and sadly her writing about the H's words and actions aren't descriptive or emotive enough to convince me on the love front. I am not sure why she is great at the meanness part and missing a vital ingredient on the love declaration part, but it not something that is limited to one or two of her books in my readings of her stories.
This one is good for the wrecky and good for the secondary drama that spills over onto the h. Plus the h sorta holds out on the H and doesn't totally get clubbed when he is King Rat mode, so that makes this one a decent read when you want a little more angst for your trip to HPlandia.
The story starts with the h going to a small Greek Island on holiday. The h's sister is a nanny of twins and she works for a couple who are the employees of the local Greek vineyard owner. The sister has invited the h to spend some time on the island and the family she works for has graciously offered the h a room in their home for the visit.
The h is looking forward to some sun and the beach, the last few years have been very hard for her. The h is petite pocket Venus and a widow. She is not too keen on men either, she fell madly in love and married a huge womanizer and had her heart shattered when she discovered his numerous infidelities when he died. It has taken her two years to climb out of the emotional hole her dead slime crawler has left her in and she holds all men at a distance, cause she is afraid to trust again.
The story opens with the h waiting at the airport for her flight. She sees a man across the concourse and her heart almost stops. From a distance and in profile, the man looks just like her dead slime lurker. The man even acts like him too. She watches with bitter cynicism as he collides with a beautiful woman and then spends several minutes charming the frown off of her face. It looks like contact information may have been exchanged and as the man blithely moves on, the h reflects that her dead slime crawler had that same kind of charm.
It was a very similar scenario that netted the h in his seductive and destructive web and the h angrily regrets ever giving in to such a shallow egoist of a man. The h boards her flight and when it lands, the charming guy is on the plane too. There are limited taxis available and when the charmer offers to share his with her, the man's natural assumption that she would fall at his feet irks her to no end and the h refuses. Charmer Guy notices the ring on her finger and indifferently take the cab himself. The h has a long wait and thinks rather indignantly that a real gentleman would have at least let her have the cab while he waited for the next one.
The h arrives at the little island eventually and is warmly welcomed by her hosts. The husband is a marketer for wines and is doing an intensive training course in the local office of the wealthy vintner. The man will eventually take over the management of the vintner's office in England, the wines need more British promotion and his wife is a skilled secretary and helps the vintner out in his office. The sister is sorta happy to see the h, but she is also rather distant about some things and appears to be a bit standoffish.
The h is looking forward to dinner and the rest of her holiday when the wife informs her that the vintner they work for is coming to dinner too. The h prepares herself to be a gracious guest, but is shocked out her size four shoes when the guest is Charmer Guy from the airport. The h is even more appalled when she realizes that she is physically responding to the man's looks, even though facially he looks nothing like the dead slime lurker. Things get much worse for the h when Charming Guy makes no secret of his physical attraction back - he is kissing the h's hand like he never wants to let go and devouring her with his eyes. The h's body is gearing up for passion, but her brain is horrified and ready to burst in appalled disgust.
The H manages to maneuver the h into accompanying him around. The sister remains distant and stand-offish and the h is worried, but she holds her peace and hopes the sister will eventually reveal what is troubling her. Meanwhile the H and h are doing the Corfu HP travelogue and as the h gets to know the H, she begins to believe that Charmer Guy isn't all he is. She begins to think there is actually a caring and decent person with a hint of possessiveness behind his charming persona. The H makes no secret that he wants the h and yet he is pretty understanding when the h describes how she found out her slime lurker was cheating on her.
She was coming home from work one day and saw a car swerve to avoid a child and crash into a pole. The driver was killed instantly and when she opened the door, she realized it was her husband - the female passenger in the car seat next to him had very little clothing on under a full length coat and it was obvious that he was taking the woman home after an afternoon rendezvous at the his and the h's home. The h was devastated and it soon came out that the slime crawler had been crawling through innumerable sewers the whole time the h was married to him.
The H swears he is a faithful devoted kinda a guy, even when he is with a lady strictly for his "manly needs", he doesn't do multiple partners - it is a matter of personal honour. The H also admits that he was in love once himself, but the girl's family had arranged another marriage for her and when the girl's father had a heart attack when he found out about the H and the girl's love, he made the girl promise to marry the man he picked for her on his deathbed.
Because the girl and the H were both Greek and these promises had serious weight, they agreed to part and the girl married the man her father wanted and moved away with her new husband. The h is sympathetic to his plight and she decides that maybe men deserve a second chance, plus she is so aware of the H physically that they soon become lost on the swaying motion of the lurve club mojo. The h is delighted with her new lover and telling herself that she needed it for her badly damaged confidence, but also telling herself that this will just be a holiday affair.
Then she gets back to the house she is staying at and he sister confides that she has been seekritly dating the H's younger brother and she thinks she is preggers and when she told the lil brother, he got really upset. The h is a bit upset too, cause she knows for a fact that the H's brother is engaged to another Greek girl. The H took her to visit his cousin and the girl was there as well, and it seems both families are really all for the match. The h tells the sister that she wants to talk to the brother and then she suggests that her sister visit a doctor and confirm she is up the duff.
But the sister declines because it is hard to get off the island and basically makes a lot of excuses. The h is supposed to be joining the H and his family for dinner, but that invitation is dumped when the H shows up early and calls the h and her sister con artist, gold digging tarts and wants them off the island immediately. The h and he fight and there is angry punishing kisses and the h declares that no one is leaving the island and he is just another slime lurker.
The h and the sister meet with the H's brother on the beach, the h hasn't mentioned his engagement to her sister yet, she wants to talk to the young man first. The lil brother is confused about his feelings. The h tells him to do what is in his heart, but to make his own decisions, not let his brother do it for him. The sister is really petulant this whole time and swims out too far into the ocean and starts to drown, it appears that she tried to commit suicide but the brother jumps in and saves her.
They all part and the h and the sister return to the house they are staying at. The H insists that the h and her sister come for dinner and meet his parents a few days later, the sister REALLY gives the impression that she has an eye on the gold digging chance when she starts questioning the value of the objects in the house and making subtle references to her potential pregnancy over dinner. Then the H's mum drops the bombshell about her younger son being engaged to a lovely Greek girl. The sister looks white and the H and h go off to fight it out. The H decides that even tho the h is a gold digging tart and several other very unsavory words, she is still good for a club and he tries to get it on.
The h is physically very willing, but mentally holding him off and she finally manages to get away without a thorough love clubbing. She tells the H to jump fairly royally and takes her sister home. The sister pretty much collapses and passes it off as a virus that is going around. The h offers to watch the wife of the house's twins for the day while the wife helps the H in a secretarial capacity in his office. Then the sister gets really sick and she is completely distant and petulant to boot.
The wife has to stay home to watch her children and the H blackmails the h into helping in his work - the h is furious cause she was due to leave in a few day and she REALLY resents the nasty comments the H keeps making while he is trying to get her clothes off. The H calls the h's boss and gets her vacation extended and they spend some furious days in the office where the H proves he is a big meanie multiple times and the h is practically schizophrenic in her apologies for saying mean things alternating with verbal beratement. Finally the sister recovers and announces she isn't preggers after all and wants to go home. The brother of the H returns and announces that he and the Greek girl aren't marrying, he loves the sister and chooses to marry her. The h packs her bags to leave. The H is the one who takes her to the airport and when he tries to talk to her, the h shuts him down hard, gives him a pithy little lecture and tells him she never wants to see him again. She gets on the plane and goes home.
The h is slowly rebuilding her life, her job is fine, but she is an emotional wreck, cause she fell in love with the H and he treated her like the Harlot of Babylon but with even less respect and now she is having a long mopey moment. Two months go by and the sister and her new lil brother fiance come to England for a visit. The h is hoping to hear news of the H, cause he was scheduled to attend an English wine convention, but the sister has no news to offer. She is too busy planning her wedding instead.
The h gets home one day and the H is waiting in the garden. The h is overjoyed and runs to him and finally confesses her love. The H says he loves her back and does the sorta half-hearted Official HP H Non-Apology that manages to make it all the h's fault anyways, and then also seems genuinely remorseful over what he said about the sister. (In fact he seemed sorrier about saying mean things about the h's sister than he did about how he treated the h.) So it is all good between them now and the H suggests a double wedding in the rosy glow of the HP HEA.
This one is okay. The wrecki drama angst was good, the H was suitably nasty and the sister really did leave you wondering just what exactly her motivations were. I found the inclusion of the sister and her drama to be very original, but I felt she really did fake the pregger thing and probably really WAS a gold digger and I worried just what kind of problems she would cause for the h in the future.
I also did not totally buy into the H's love for the h. MM does the great ranty, rotten, angry H, but she usually fails to convince me that her H's really love their h's. She rarely has the H POV in her books and sadly her writing about the H's words and actions aren't descriptive or emotive enough to convince me on the love front. I am not sure why she is great at the meanness part and missing a vital ingredient on the love declaration part, but it not something that is limited to one or two of her books in my readings of her stories.
This one is good for the wrecky and good for the secondary drama that spills over onto the h. Plus the h sorta holds out on the H and doesn't totally get clubbed when he is King Rat mode, so that makes this one a decent read when you want a little more angst for your trip to HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2022
The H is cruel and terrible and sometimes an embarrassing horndog. I didn't buy his love for the h.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews