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The Takeover #3
Revealed: His Secret Child
‘How dare you keep my child a secret?'
Discovering his ex-girlfriend was behind his company’s bad press was one thing. Learning she’d secretly borne his son was entirely different.
Millionaire PR guru Max Preston would not accept any of Gillian Mitchell’s excuses. She would marry him – or he’d use his power to take his son away from her. After a whirlwind Vegas wedding, however, Max’s desire for Gillian was as intense as ever. But he knew thinking of their marriage as more than a convenient arrangement meant entering territory even a tycoon was unprepared to tackle!
The Takeover For better, for worse. For business, for pleasure. These tycoons have vowed to have it all
Also includes a Bonus Novella: Rafe & Sarah - Part 3, by Catherine Mann
Discovering his ex-girlfriend was behind his company’s bad press was one thing. Learning she’d secretly borne his son was entirely different.
Millionaire PR guru Max Preston would not accept any of Gillian Mitchell’s excuses. She would marry him – or he’d use his power to take his son away from her. After a whirlwind Vegas wedding, however, Max’s desire for Gillian was as intense as ever. But he knew thinking of their marriage as more than a convenient arrangement meant entering territory even a tycoon was unprepared to tackle!
The Takeover For better, for worse. For business, for pleasure. These tycoons have vowed to have it all
Also includes a Bonus Novella: Rafe & Sarah - Part 3, by Catherine Mann
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
18 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Hyatt
99 books23 followersI’ve always loved reading – it started with The Famous Five and Nancy Drew. And then when I was older I discovered Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Georgette Heyer, thus sealing my fate as a romance junkie.
So, although I’ll read pretty much anything with words on a page, it’s romance I come back to every time, to pick me up, to envelop me in a different world, to make me laugh, to make me sigh.
I’ve worked many jobs from extra on the TV show, Hercules, to service station attendant (real women do pump gas) and sales rep while putting myself through university studying for a degree in Management (looking back I’ve never quite figured out why I chose management, although I did have a hankering to wear a suit to work). I then worked in finance in London for a couple of years, and in marketing back home in New Zealand. The novelty of wearing a suit to work didn’t last all that long.
I finally had a Eureka! moment when I was home on maternity leave and tried my hand at writing a novel. Imagine the joy of discovering that writing was almost as much fun as reading. After years of not knowing what I wanted to do ‘when I grew up’ I suddenly knew.
That knowledge was both a blessing and a curse, yes I finally had a dream but then the hard slog of making it a reality began.
So, although I’ll read pretty much anything with words on a page, it’s romance I come back to every time, to pick me up, to envelop me in a different world, to make me laugh, to make me sigh.
I’ve worked many jobs from extra on the TV show, Hercules, to service station attendant (real women do pump gas) and sales rep while putting myself through university studying for a degree in Management (looking back I’ve never quite figured out why I chose management, although I did have a hankering to wear a suit to work). I then worked in finance in London for a couple of years, and in marketing back home in New Zealand. The novelty of wearing a suit to work didn’t last all that long.
I finally had a Eureka! moment when I was home on maternity leave and tried my hand at writing a novel. Imagine the joy of discovering that writing was almost as much fun as reading. After years of not knowing what I wanted to do ‘when I grew up’ I suddenly knew.
That knowledge was both a blessing and a curse, yes I finally had a dream but then the hard slog of making it a reality began.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 25, 2011
Revealed:His Secret Child by Sandra Hyatt was decent. Max the hero is a PR guru for Rafe Cameron, he goes to confront the reporter who is his ex and a thorn in Rafe's side, finds out he has a son with her and drags her to the altar. Then rest all of the book is all about Max and Gillian trying to resist each other and failing.
The Takeover series has been enjoyable till now. I have read the last book first and reading the rest.
The Takeover series has been enjoyable till now. I have read the last book first and reading the rest.
March 13, 2012
The third book in the Harlequin Takeover series, Max Preston is a millionaire and head of PR for Cameron Enterprises, run by Rafe Cameron who just bought out Worth Industries in Vista Del Mar, California. Our heroine, Gillian Mitchell is a journalist in the same town writing columns that is giving bad publicity to Cameron Enterprises. Max and Gillian were involved 3.5 years ago, but Max broke it off, when it seemed that Gillian was getting serious. Max thinks that the articles is a way get back at him for breaking up with her, but Gillian sets him straight that she is just being a good journalist. Even though Gillian is not out to seek revenge, but she is hiding a secret, which Max find out that he has a son that he does not know about. As predicted, this leads to a quickie wedding. Max is furious that Gillian never told him about his child, while Gillian was certain that Max who has a phobia of commitment would not care to know about his child. Most of the book is about Gillian and Max fighting their attraction to each other and finally giving in.
The book was good, but it wasn’t great. It was just missing a little bit of something for me to give it 4 stars. Max and Gillian were good characters, but like I said before there was just something lacking to endear themselves to me like Chase Larson and Emma Worth from the first book. Max was a playboy who did not do serious relationships/attachments because of a tragedy in his past but I didn’t fully understand why it was so traumatic for him to form attachments, because I thought the one with his son was a solid one, but he had trouble doing the same with Gillian. Gillian also kind of left everything up to him in the end, since she spent most of the book pushing him to face his past, I expected she would be pushing in the end as well, instead she left it for Max to realize it. Their conflicting jobs were not really a big issue here as it could have been. The first two books in the series had me expecting more from this and that is where all my disappointment lies. It is a good book to read, it was just not up to par with the books before this one in this series.
The book was good, but it wasn’t great. It was just missing a little bit of something for me to give it 4 stars. Max and Gillian were good characters, but like I said before there was just something lacking to endear themselves to me like Chase Larson and Emma Worth from the first book. Max was a playboy who did not do serious relationships/attachments because of a tragedy in his past but I didn’t fully understand why it was so traumatic for him to form attachments, because I thought the one with his son was a solid one, but he had trouble doing the same with Gillian. Gillian also kind of left everything up to him in the end, since she spent most of the book pushing him to face his past, I expected she would be pushing in the end as well, instead she left it for Max to realize it. Their conflicting jobs were not really a big issue here as it could have been. The first two books in the series had me expecting more from this and that is where all my disappointment lies. It is a good book to read, it was just not up to par with the books before this one in this series.
October 30, 2012
Da** you Harlequinn! No wonder I have moved on from reading all those books from you.
Cheesy romance, cheesy plot, cheesy hero, cheesy heroine, cheesy string of characters.
Lame lame lame.
Max just found out that his ex-girlfriend, Gillian had a child with him. And he forced her to marry him all in one day. All in Chapter 1. Yep, all in Chapter 1.
And this came from a man who said he does not believe in marriage and having kids. Yeah, right! Where is your principal now Max? It seemed to evaporate towards thin air when you saw your ex-girlfriend and your child.
Max, the super alpha male, the one who can't commit, suddenly wants to marry and settle down? Bwahaha.. you must be joking. And then suddenly he talks about life time commitment for his child, he played with the kid, he even took care of the kid. This Max has turned to be a perfect daddy in one night? I think I am going bonkers.
Gillian, Gillian, Gillian. Let me say, I just want to strangle you. Ohhh, your heart flutters when you saw him. You think it is not a good idea to marry Max, but suddenly you feel helpless and you have to marry him because he said so? Hey girl, the author wrote you as head strong and independent. Where have it gone? To the moon?
And not everything is solved by sex. Why both of you are talking to each other like robots are beyond my imagination. Excuse me author, could you please learn about character development and give them both heart and soul before you started penning the story?
I have read a much shorter novel than this, that have much more soul than your book.
Cheesy romance, cheesy plot, cheesy hero, cheesy heroine, cheesy string of characters.
Lame lame lame.
Max just found out that his ex-girlfriend, Gillian had a child with him. And he forced her to marry him all in one day. All in Chapter 1. Yep, all in Chapter 1.
And this came from a man who said he does not believe in marriage and having kids. Yeah, right! Where is your principal now Max? It seemed to evaporate towards thin air when you saw your ex-girlfriend and your child.
Max, the super alpha male, the one who can't commit, suddenly wants to marry and settle down? Bwahaha.. you must be joking. And then suddenly he talks about life time commitment for his child, he played with the kid, he even took care of the kid. This Max has turned to be a perfect daddy in one night? I think I am going bonkers.
Gillian, Gillian, Gillian. Let me say, I just want to strangle you. Ohhh, your heart flutters when you saw him. You think it is not a good idea to marry Max, but suddenly you feel helpless and you have to marry him because he said so? Hey girl, the author wrote you as head strong and independent. Where have it gone? To the moon?
And not everything is solved by sex. Why both of you are talking to each other like robots are beyond my imagination. Excuse me author, could you please learn about character development and give them both heart and soul before you started penning the story?
I have read a much shorter novel than this, that have much more soul than your book.
September 27, 2012
Read in 2011.
I found the novel a bit boring, predictable and at times over the top. I thought the heroine went about things the wrong way and since she did, so did the hero. It was a case of two wrongs don't make a right.
I found the novel a bit boring, predictable and at times over the top. I thought the heroine went about things the wrong way and since she did, so did the hero. It was a case of two wrongs don't make a right.
April 17, 2011
This was a good book,Max-Gillian were good parents though they had to struggle to bring back the trust in their relation but all was well
Good read
Good read
March 14, 2020
Of thoughts, words and deeds - actions speak loudest, then the H's definitely is deplorable. He has never spoken of or introduced h to his parents while dating, has explicitly stated his intentions against marriage and children. When he learns of his child he threatens custody and blackmails her into marriage complete with prenup and gives her half hour to get ready along with her almost 3 year old son. None of which is all reasonable but the author tries to sway the readers by writing his thoughts as he wouldnt have gone through with the custody threat. Too little, too late after the deed!
March 2, 2017
este ha sido un librito muy rapido de leer... enseguida me ha atrapado, me encantan Max y Gillian y como se van conociendo realmente
es el 3º de una saga de muchas autoras, y la verdad que segun la voy leyendo me van gustando mas
mi nota un 8
May 10, 2017
leído el 18/04/2012
September 6, 2017
This is book 3 of the "Rafe and Sarah" series. I am hooked on this series. Thank you, Sandra Hyatt!
March 4, 2017
Max confronts Gillian, his former girlfriend, about an article she wrote about his boss. While at her house, he discovers her secret - his three-year-old son. Not about to be kept out of his son's life, he gives her an ultimatum - custody suit or quickie marriage in Vegas. She chooses the marriage and before she knows it, Max is living in her house and being a father to her son. But the attraction between them isn't over. They both fight against it because they know they have to keep each other at a distance. Gillian does not want another broken heart and Max doesn't want any emotional attachments.
Enjoyable and with intriguing characters. I liked that the heroine wasn't overly dramatic or emotional or even all that annoying and I liked that the hero was level-headed and not a jerkwad. He got over his anger about the secret baby pretty quickly - even reversed his opinion later on thinking he'd do anything to make parenting easier after those years she'd done it alone (this after telling her it was her own damn fault anyway). I usually don't like it when a heroine keeps a baby secret, since I think a father typically has a right to know (barring certain circumstances), but I think because Max didn't dwell on it and didn't remain bitter about it, I had no trouble getting over it and forgiving the heroine. I did feel like some sort of resolution was missing in their relationship though. I mean, back before, Max left Gillian without a second thought and kind of broke her heart and they both sort of moved on without discussing that at all. Maybe they could let that go, but I couldn't. And that sort of thing makes me question whether he loves her or not...they were together for how long and he was able to let her go without thinking of her again, and then the second time they're together (but now there's a baby) and this time he falls in love with her. I'm just not sure I like what that implies. Still, this was way better than a lot of my guilty pleasure HQNs. This didn't feel as cliche and tropy and the writing was quite good.
Enjoyable and with intriguing characters. I liked that the heroine wasn't overly dramatic or emotional or even all that annoying and I liked that the hero was level-headed and not a jerkwad. He got over his anger about the secret baby pretty quickly - even reversed his opinion later on thinking he'd do anything to make parenting easier after those years she'd done it alone (this after telling her it was her own damn fault anyway). I usually don't like it when a heroine keeps a baby secret, since I think a father typically has a right to know (barring certain circumstances), but I think because Max didn't dwell on it and didn't remain bitter about it, I had no trouble getting over it and forgiving the heroine. I did feel like some sort of resolution was missing in their relationship though. I mean, back before, Max left Gillian without a second thought and kind of broke her heart and they both sort of moved on without discussing that at all. Maybe they could let that go, but I couldn't. And that sort of thing makes me question whether he loves her or not...they were together for how long and he was able to let her go without thinking of her again, and then the second time they're together (but now there's a baby) and this time he falls in love with her. I'm just not sure I like what that implies. Still, this was way better than a lot of my guilty pleasure HQNs. This didn't feel as cliche and tropy and the writing was quite good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2011
The story moved slowly when Gillian was in shock but warmed up when she and Max realized their affection for each other. They didn't really talk a lot but when they did say something it usually accomplished a lot. That was well done especially since they had plenty of chemistry and/or lingering attraction between them.
April 15, 2013
I liked it. It was well written, the characters had 'character', and the writing flowed. On the upside, the writing had wit as well. Usually when authors switch between two different characters' POV, I dread it, because it feels like swimming through molasses. This book delivered what it promised: an entertaining read to uplift your mood.
Read
December 24, 2014Miniseries: The Takeover
News Update!: Always powerful, passionate and provocative. Starting with April titles, Silhouette Desire books will be published as Harlequin Desire.
News Update!: Always powerful, passionate and provocative. Starting with April titles, Silhouette Desire books will be published as Harlequin Desire.
August 20, 2011
A very touching story.
To see how Max comes to realize that having Gillian and Ethan in his life is worth the pain of allowing himself to love is very sweet.
To see how Max comes to realize that having Gillian and Ethan in his life is worth the pain of allowing himself to love is very sweet.
January 11, 2012
3.5 stars
I really liked it. It's a part of a series, but stood well on its own. And now I'm intrigued by the rest of the series!
I really liked it. It's a part of a series, but stood well on its own. And now I'm intrigued by the rest of the series!
January 27, 2013
Check out my review at Revealed :His Secret Child
March 26, 2013
Max head PR for Rafe gets a huge shock when he confronts his old flame at her house and meets his 3yr son Ethan. This book is fast moving and has a great end HEA.
July 7, 2013
un libro entrtenido para leer en una tarde fria de invierno
July 14, 2011
Part 3, really enjoyed this one.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews