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Heart In Hiding
Working for ex-racing driver Corbin McCaid had seemed to Verity as good a way as any to stay in France until her next teaching course began - especially as it involved travelling to the remote, pretty village of Auray. But that was before she got to know her irascible employer and was forced to realise that if there was one person he didn't like, it was her!
232 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 16, 2017
RE Heart in Hiding - Emma Richmond brings us her version of the HPlandia Nov 1990 connecting theme of the martyred h trope -but this is a quietly subversive h and doesn't take to martyrdom with any degree of reliability. In fact this little sneaky sleeper book is positively perverse in how the seemingly mild mannered, unobtrusive h manages to thwart the mechanization's of supposedly more Alpha characters.
When the book opens, the h is a personal assistant and whipper into shaper of various assorted business students who take classes with her boss in how to manage international banks. There are a wide variety of students and the h handles them and their problems with a great deal of ease. Her boss is very impressed with her diplomacy and finesse, cause even royalty and high government officials all seem to bend to the will of the h, and yet she isn't a stand out obvious person in any sense. Her boss actually calls her a Jenny Wren and is also in awe of the h's well developed intuition that she employs to manage people and make them think it is all their own idears.
The h's boss needs a big favor tho, the current skills class he teaches has concluded and the h will be without employment for a few weeks until the next session in Rome starts. Because the h mentioned wanting to stay in France for a bit, the h's boss sets her up with one of his friends who is a major star race car driver but currently having a very bad time and he needs some assistance as he wants to write a novel and needs a domestic engineer to boot.
The h had met the man unknowingly a bit earlier when she went out to get some coffee and got caught staring at an interesting stranger. When the interesting stranger shows up in her boss's office, the h decides to give his job a shot and after some subtle maneuvering to sort out boundaries, they both agree to a week long trial. The h takes off with the H for a remote French village location and there is lots of banter and some frustration as the H isn't quite sure which French cottage he has actually rented and they end up in a less than savory place for the night.
There is an almost seduction moment when the H and h end up sharing a sofa bed when they finally find the house, but the h turns the H down as she isn't offering bonus buffings in the personal assistant job description. Eventually after a lot of banter and some house agent sorting out, the h and H get to the right cottage and the H starts writing his book while the h does unobtrusive housekeeping and deals with potential H distractions.
The H also takes the h out and has her try rally car racing, he wants to see how fast it takes to teach a woman how to drive a race car, this is research for some plot he has cooking in his book. The h manages to do an excellent job of racing with minimal instruction and it was quite funny to see the H's skepticism turn into a repressed admiration.
Eventually the H's stepmother shows up and we get the full backstory on the H as well as the h doing sneaky maneuverings to make the H's mum think they are lovers - cause the step mum loves to throw women at the H.
The reason is that the H is a famous motor racer, currently the world champion and he married a woman who turned out to be a user witch who loved to cause extreme drama and wasn't supportive of the H's driving career at all if it interfered with her social life. The ex wife took up with the H's rival racing partner and there was a big accident that left the H's rival in a coma and people are saying the H caused it. There was a lot of bad press and accusations and the H is pretty much in seclusion to avoid the attacks, after his wife divorced him.
Even the step mother believes the H really did it. But the h hears the story and instantly knows that it isn't true, the H is just so angry at the accusation, he won't even bother to deny it. The step mum is very managing but really means well and she thought throwing various women at the H would help him get over his ex-wife, cause the H is still a bit obsessed by her.
But his obsession is also tied in with all that he has lost through some vicious rumors, innuendos and lies. Somehow the loss of his public reputation and career are intricately linked in the symbolic relationship with his ex wife, which was inherently detrimental and it takes a much healthier relationship with the h to play up the contrast in the H's life.
Soon the step mum wanders off, now convinced in the H's innocence and that the H and h are partners. Then the H finishes his book, which the h thinks is excellent - as does the H's publisher, and the H's rival wakes up out of his coma and clears the H's name. The ex-wife shows up and there is a highly amusing scene as she is overtly catty and a witch and the h subtly puts her down and makes her look like an idiot. The H's former racing team boss wants the H to return to driving and the H is left with some big choices.
Then the h comes to the realization that she is in love with the H and after some evasion tactics, the H and h have a big scare when a yacht capsizes in the nearby river and both the H and h jump into rescue the family that is sinking. The H was tied to a rope and was able to pull out the parents, but the h just dived into freezing water to save a little girl. After a miraculous rescue, cause the h managed to aim them towards the bank, the H and h have an almost seduction moment. The h confesses she loves the H, but his feelings are not so clear and he is still torn about his ex wife.
The H and h part back to their respective lives and the h stays with her boss for a bit while waiting for the next seminar to start. The h is having a bit of a mopey moment, but she is happy she finally was able to fall in love and if the H hadn't returned for her, she would definitely have recovered enough to love again. The H does come back of course, after seeing his old life through new eyes and after having known the h, he can't imagine what he ever saw in his ex besides a certain lookable lust quantity, cause she had all the personality of a rotting mushroom.
The H realizes that he loves the h madly and even tho she thinks she is plain and quiet, to him she is beautiful and amazing and when she almost died in the river, his world almost ended too - it just took him a month to figure out what kind of lifestyle he wants to have. He doesn't want to subject the h to the racing circuit and she wants to put down roots and be a domestic engineer, so the H will continue writing and do racing commentating after they find a nice little 10 bedroom country cottage.
The h is very clear that she had a job to support herself, but she really wants to do a hearth and home career and she likes taking care of the H with lots of potential plot moppets for future domestic opportunities and to utilize the cottage space. We leave our lovers lurved up in bliss and planning a wedding and a country life with two cats and a dog and some rose covered picket fences for a really sweet HEA.
This one was not a flashy, drama filled emo rollercoaster by any means, but it wasn't boring either. The development of the relationship between the H and h was well done and the H is very careful to let the h know that he never tried any poky stuff with the ex-wife, cause he just wasn't interested and all he could think of was the h.
The h did have a bit of a matyry moment when she let the H go and did not try to seduce him or try to talk him round into staying with her, but instead was willing to suffer in silence over his departure.
That could have been a big letdown after the h's solid backbone for the rest of the story. But ER did a great job of having the h realize that this was something she just had to be patient on and see how it worked out. ER also illustrated pretty clearly that the h wasn't lessened by the experience and would have eventually recovered. We don't get that implication very often in HPlandia, h's are usually condemned to suffer in perpetual emotional angst and cold storage if their H happens to wander off and doesn't' wander back.
The h was actually pretty cagey in letting the H go off to do his own head sorting, realizing that he needs some personal time and she was very understanding when he finally came back and was all sorted out cause it was a big h patience win. The verbal back and forth between the H and h was well done too and the HEA was absolutely believable. This one is a great HP outing and if you are in the mood for subtle and funny, this is one you should certainly look up for some real quality time in HPlandia.
When the book opens, the h is a personal assistant and whipper into shaper of various assorted business students who take classes with her boss in how to manage international banks. There are a wide variety of students and the h handles them and their problems with a great deal of ease. Her boss is very impressed with her diplomacy and finesse, cause even royalty and high government officials all seem to bend to the will of the h, and yet she isn't a stand out obvious person in any sense. Her boss actually calls her a Jenny Wren and is also in awe of the h's well developed intuition that she employs to manage people and make them think it is all their own idears.
The h's boss needs a big favor tho, the current skills class he teaches has concluded and the h will be without employment for a few weeks until the next session in Rome starts. Because the h mentioned wanting to stay in France for a bit, the h's boss sets her up with one of his friends who is a major star race car driver but currently having a very bad time and he needs some assistance as he wants to write a novel and needs a domestic engineer to boot.
The h had met the man unknowingly a bit earlier when she went out to get some coffee and got caught staring at an interesting stranger. When the interesting stranger shows up in her boss's office, the h decides to give his job a shot and after some subtle maneuvering to sort out boundaries, they both agree to a week long trial. The h takes off with the H for a remote French village location and there is lots of banter and some frustration as the H isn't quite sure which French cottage he has actually rented and they end up in a less than savory place for the night.
There is an almost seduction moment when the H and h end up sharing a sofa bed when they finally find the house, but the h turns the H down as she isn't offering bonus buffings in the personal assistant job description. Eventually after a lot of banter and some house agent sorting out, the h and H get to the right cottage and the H starts writing his book while the h does unobtrusive housekeeping and deals with potential H distractions.
The H also takes the h out and has her try rally car racing, he wants to see how fast it takes to teach a woman how to drive a race car, this is research for some plot he has cooking in his book. The h manages to do an excellent job of racing with minimal instruction and it was quite funny to see the H's skepticism turn into a repressed admiration.
Eventually the H's stepmother shows up and we get the full backstory on the H as well as the h doing sneaky maneuverings to make the H's mum think they are lovers - cause the step mum loves to throw women at the H.
The reason is that the H is a famous motor racer, currently the world champion and he married a woman who turned out to be a user witch who loved to cause extreme drama and wasn't supportive of the H's driving career at all if it interfered with her social life. The ex wife took up with the H's rival racing partner and there was a big accident that left the H's rival in a coma and people are saying the H caused it. There was a lot of bad press and accusations and the H is pretty much in seclusion to avoid the attacks, after his wife divorced him.
Even the step mother believes the H really did it. But the h hears the story and instantly knows that it isn't true, the H is just so angry at the accusation, he won't even bother to deny it. The step mum is very managing but really means well and she thought throwing various women at the H would help him get over his ex-wife, cause the H is still a bit obsessed by her.
But his obsession is also tied in with all that he has lost through some vicious rumors, innuendos and lies. Somehow the loss of his public reputation and career are intricately linked in the symbolic relationship with his ex wife, which was inherently detrimental and it takes a much healthier relationship with the h to play up the contrast in the H's life.
Soon the step mum wanders off, now convinced in the H's innocence and that the H and h are partners. Then the H finishes his book, which the h thinks is excellent - as does the H's publisher, and the H's rival wakes up out of his coma and clears the H's name. The ex-wife shows up and there is a highly amusing scene as she is overtly catty and a witch and the h subtly puts her down and makes her look like an idiot. The H's former racing team boss wants the H to return to driving and the H is left with some big choices.
Then the h comes to the realization that she is in love with the H and after some evasion tactics, the H and h have a big scare when a yacht capsizes in the nearby river and both the H and h jump into rescue the family that is sinking. The H was tied to a rope and was able to pull out the parents, but the h just dived into freezing water to save a little girl. After a miraculous rescue, cause the h managed to aim them towards the bank, the H and h have an almost seduction moment. The h confesses she loves the H, but his feelings are not so clear and he is still torn about his ex wife.
The H and h part back to their respective lives and the h stays with her boss for a bit while waiting for the next seminar to start. The h is having a bit of a mopey moment, but she is happy she finally was able to fall in love and if the H hadn't returned for her, she would definitely have recovered enough to love again. The H does come back of course, after seeing his old life through new eyes and after having known the h, he can't imagine what he ever saw in his ex besides a certain lookable lust quantity, cause she had all the personality of a rotting mushroom.
The H realizes that he loves the h madly and even tho she thinks she is plain and quiet, to him she is beautiful and amazing and when she almost died in the river, his world almost ended too - it just took him a month to figure out what kind of lifestyle he wants to have. He doesn't want to subject the h to the racing circuit and she wants to put down roots and be a domestic engineer, so the H will continue writing and do racing commentating after they find a nice little 10 bedroom country cottage.
The h is very clear that she had a job to support herself, but she really wants to do a hearth and home career and she likes taking care of the H with lots of potential plot moppets for future domestic opportunities and to utilize the cottage space. We leave our lovers lurved up in bliss and planning a wedding and a country life with two cats and a dog and some rose covered picket fences for a really sweet HEA.
This one was not a flashy, drama filled emo rollercoaster by any means, but it wasn't boring either. The development of the relationship between the H and h was well done and the H is very careful to let the h know that he never tried any poky stuff with the ex-wife, cause he just wasn't interested and all he could think of was the h.
The h did have a bit of a matyry moment when she let the H go and did not try to seduce him or try to talk him round into staying with her, but instead was willing to suffer in silence over his departure.
That could have been a big letdown after the h's solid backbone for the rest of the story. But ER did a great job of having the h realize that this was something she just had to be patient on and see how it worked out. ER also illustrated pretty clearly that the h wasn't lessened by the experience and would have eventually recovered. We don't get that implication very often in HPlandia, h's are usually condemned to suffer in perpetual emotional angst and cold storage if their H happens to wander off and doesn't' wander back.
The h was actually pretty cagey in letting the H go off to do his own head sorting, realizing that he needs some personal time and she was very understanding when he finally came back and was all sorted out cause it was a big h patience win. The verbal back and forth between the H and h was well done too and the HEA was absolutely believable. This one is a great HP outing and if you are in the mood for subtle and funny, this is one you should certainly look up for some real quality time in HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2022
Adorable. And so well written with a droll sense of humor.
The heroine finds herself as housekeeper/assistant to the ex-race car driver hero as he writes a novel. This is set in touristy town in Brittany during the winter months. I liked the symbolism of that - a bit of time out of time - away from the crowds where ordinary life could come into focus.
The H/h had great banter and the heroine was truly someone to fall in love with. She had a lot of wisdom and kindness for everyone in her sphere (her scenes with the H's mother were great). The hero was harder to warm up to, but I loved the description of his book and how he was finally starting to look at what was important in life. That it took him longer than the heroine to sort out his feelings is totally in character.
See Boogenhagen's review for more details!
The heroine finds herself as housekeeper/assistant to the ex-race car driver hero as he writes a novel. This is set in touristy town in Brittany during the winter months. I liked the symbolism of that - a bit of time out of time - away from the crowds where ordinary life could come into focus.
The H/h had great banter and the heroine was truly someone to fall in love with. She had a lot of wisdom and kindness for everyone in her sphere (her scenes with the H's mother were great). The hero was harder to warm up to, but I loved the description of his book and how he was finally starting to look at what was important in life. That it took him longer than the heroine to sort out his feelings is totally in character.
See Boogenhagen's review for more details!
June 25, 2024
Hero had his fun with the gorgeous OW but decided to come back to dowdy, besotted heroine who would always give his male ego a boost, while the OW was always too standoffish and independent to give him the time of day. She bought everything he was selling including that he never slept with OW HA!!!!! No, he just mysteriously dumped heroine, disappeared for a few weeks, then came back innocently. YEAH RIGHT!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2018
Lovely vintage HP. Light-hearted with just a touch of angst. Very enjoyable.
June 25, 2017
Woah ! I actually loved it. Will write a detailed review soon :)
October 12, 2014
very good one!cud have been sensational wid more chemistry between conin and verify! i also found it unpardonable dat at the end, conin chose good looks over verity. she had a heart of gold and was the epitome of loyalty, honesty and true love. she deserved better than him.
January 9, 2022
You know the GR book tag of bickery-bickerfest? I think that tag was made with this book in mind. The h is a lovely, blunt character, full of humor, intelligence and also a domestic queen apparently. The H was an absolute beast with a horrible, horrible temper, and harsh words every time he opened his mouth, petulant child really, and the h lets him know this every single time which is the only saving grace of this book. The H had a tendency of always getting short with her, taking out all frustrations of life's minutest inconveniences on her anyway.
The h is jack AND master of all trades - she is a team manager, housekeeper, cook, cleaner, dresses prettily, and can type. The H, a champion racer with severe anger management issues, is apparently so cerebrally inclined that he writes an entire novel in the shortest amount of time and gets it approved for publishing on the first submission.
The H tells the h plenty of times that so that was VERY ROMANTIC for the reader I am sure.
In the dramatic rescue towards the end, the H rescues the h from an icy river, Who the eff acts like that? The book ends with him turning up at the place she's recovering from Stockholm syndrome-induced trauma and they randomly fall into bed and make love like rabbits with a single "I'm sorry" from the H. The h says she is happy to spend the rest of her life "taking care of him" so I guess we should be happy the h is happy?
I predict that the H will go back to his racing and while the h continues to be a general maid/secretary/receptacle for the H when the mood takes him.
The h is jack AND master of all trades - she is a team manager, housekeeper, cook, cleaner, dresses prettily, and can type. The H, a champion racer with severe anger management issues, is apparently so cerebrally inclined that he writes an entire novel in the shortest amount of time and gets it approved for publishing on the first submission.
The H tells the h plenty of times that so that was VERY ROMANTIC for the reader I am sure.
In the dramatic rescue towards the end, the H rescues the h from an icy river, Who the eff acts like that? The book ends with him turning up at the place she's recovering from Stockholm syndrome-induced trauma and they randomly fall into bed and make love like rabbits with a single "I'm sorry" from the H. The h says she is happy to spend the rest of her life "taking care of him" so I guess we should be happy the h is happy?
I predict that the H will go back to his racing and while the h continues to be a general maid/secretary/receptacle for the H when the mood takes him.
October 29, 2023
3.5, mostly for the delightful and somewhat subversive h, Verity, Woman Friday, calm, witty and practical, lover of an unflattering comical cloche hat and gradually realizing she wants to be the lover of resting racing driver Corbin. He was a bit harder to warm to and I'm not sure he entirely deserved her but their time out of time together in out of season Brittany while he attempted his first novel and she kills time before her next job was a surprisingly warm and immersive read.
September 27, 2019
It would keep Verity in France until her next teaching course - it would involve traveling to the pretty but remote village of Auray.
Of course, her boss hadn't outlined the drawbacks of working for his friend to whom he'd offered Verity's services. Those he'd let Verity find out for herself.
An ex-racing-car driver, the wealthy and well known Corbin McCaid was an irascible man, encased in his own private world. Not that it mattered. Verity could cope with him, even if he did dislike her - she always coped.
Of course, her boss hadn't outlined the drawbacks of working for his friend to whom he'd offered Verity's services. Those he'd let Verity find out for herself.
An ex-racing-car driver, the wealthy and well known Corbin McCaid was an irascible man, encased in his own private world. Not that it mattered. Verity could cope with him, even if he did dislike her - she always coped.
October 11, 2021
4.5 stars.
Ah now this... this is why I read romances. This was a lovely, sweet, tender, feel-good ride. The characters were likeable, funny and well suited despite their vastly different backgrounds. They both went on a journey of discovery about themselves, fought some old demons and found their way back to each other.
My only wish would be that the heroine had some ambition and drive beyond wanting to devote her whole being to him. As ego-boosting as that would be for a guy, at some point he's going to get bored with her surely, and run off with some brainbox. I hope she keeps her job at least because she was clearly a competent person in the workplace.
Oh yes, I had a bit of a giggle over the two of them trying to figure out how to use the computer. I remember those days - but they were a very long time ago.
Ah now this... this is why I read romances. This was a lovely, sweet, tender, feel-good ride. The characters were likeable, funny and well suited despite their vastly different backgrounds. They both went on a journey of discovery about themselves, fought some old demons and found their way back to each other.
My only wish would be that the heroine had some ambition and drive beyond wanting to devote her whole being to him. As ego-boosting as that would be for a guy, at some point he's going to get bored with her surely, and run off with some brainbox. I hope she keeps her job at least because she was clearly a competent person in the workplace.
Oh yes, I had a bit of a giggle over the two of them trying to figure out how to use the computer. I remember those days - but they were a very long time ago.
November 22, 2020
Beyaz seriyi bilen bilir kendiyle müsemma bir doğası var. Bazıları insanı içine alırken bazıları üveydir bizden olmaz. Gerçek şu ki hepimizin anneleri bu kitaplarla okumaya başladı. Biz şu anda sevmesek bile...
August 27, 2022
Enjoyable, clean, romance grows slowly and not exactly to H’s or h’s wish.
August 4, 2025
I absolutely loved the heroine — she was such a joy to be around. The hero was fine too; grumpy, yes, but not a bad person. Still, definitely more of a beta than an alpha.
My only real frustration was with her confessing her love while he couldn’t seem to respond in kind. That moment felt emotionally lopsided and unsatisfying.
And when he finally came back, why wasn’t he made to explain more or stew a bit? Her immediate forgiveness felt a little too easy — almost desperate. She was such an incredible character, she shouldn’t have had to feel like he was her only chance at love. But then again, that’s who she was: unselfish, open-hearted, and completely without guile.
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I want the hero to declare his love in a way that sweeps you off your feet — a declaration so intense you almost question if it’s too much. Here, I wasn’t sure: Did he truly love her? Did Eve (was that her name?) break his heart? Or did he assume she wouldn’t accept the life he now wanted, especially as he was stepping away from racing?
My only real frustration was with her confessing her love while he couldn’t seem to respond in kind. That moment felt emotionally lopsided and unsatisfying.
And when he finally came back, why wasn’t he made to explain more or stew a bit? Her immediate forgiveness felt a little too easy — almost desperate. She was such an incredible character, she shouldn’t have had to feel like he was her only chance at love. But then again, that’s who she was: unselfish, open-hearted, and completely without guile.
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I want the hero to declare his love in a way that sweeps you off your feet — a declaration so intense you almost question if it’s too much. Here, I wasn’t sure: Did he truly love her? Did Eve (was that her name?) break his heart? Or did he assume she wouldn’t accept the life he now wanted, especially as he was stepping away from racing?
March 22, 2018
Great book. Nice humour but when she nearly died - that should have been when he realised he loved her, surely. The fact that he didn't realise then spoilt it for me.
April 10, 2017
Story didn't grip me.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews