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Sisters #2
Hot Surrender
An Undeniable Attraction...
Zoe was enraged by Conriel Hillier's arrogance! He'd been direct, demanding and had even invited himself to her home! Well, other women might simper over his brooding good looks, but not Zoe.
Who was she trying to fool? Connel had the monopoly on sex appeal, and Zoe couldn't deny their attraction to one another, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't handle this man in her life, her feelings were too intense! But Connel always got what he wanted...and, this time, he was asking for, Zoe's passionate surrender.
Zoe was enraged by Conriel Hillier's arrogance! He'd been direct, demanding and had even invited himself to her home! Well, other women might simper over his brooding good looks, but not Zoe.
Who was she trying to fool? Connel had the monopoly on sex appeal, and Zoe couldn't deny their attraction to one another, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't handle this man in her life, her feelings were too intense! But Connel always got what he wanted...and, this time, he was asking for, Zoe's passionate surrender.
185 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Charlotte Lamb
262 books316 followersSheila Ann Mary Coates Holland
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 17, 2019
Re Hot Surrender - Charlotte Lamb's second book in her Sister's series is a bit of a convoluted mess.
The book opens as the movie/documentary director h is a driving home in a big storm. This h is the fiercely dedicated and independent sister of the doormat from The Marriage War.
Out of the night, H walks up to her car and demands a ride. The h very sensibly says no, she will call him a cab and drives off.
When she gets home, she is so hungry she forgets to call right away and a little while later, the H breaks into her house, harasses her, pulls the phone out of the wall so the h can't call for help and then berates her for being a witch because his actor cousin told him she was.
The H is either majorly infatuated with the h in her pj's or, (more likely,) he likes using his forced lurve club mojo skills to humiliate and degrade any woman who doesn't bow down before him like the doormats he knows all women to be - so he starts stalking the h.
He is also the boss of the h's sister's cheating nematode husband from the last book. The sister has totally drank the HP kool aid by this point. Her husband, the cheating nematode, hates the h because she is encouraging his doormat wife to start her own photography business and be self supporting.
(This means that the cheating nematode is liable to get the boot the next time he strays, so he has no problem being the secondary support to the H in the attempts at humiliation and subjugation of the h.)
He and the H, plus the h's jealous, meddling and spiteful doormat sister, are all about making sure the h knows how unfeminine, mean and what a utter ice witch she is for being good at her career and very exacting in her work ethic and standards, while not tolerating any patronizing from all the wanna be alpha men around her.
Throw in a lot of roofie kisses and some more treacherous body melt downs at each stalking incident, (including a multi stalker fight over the h between the stalker H and a weirdo stalker ex OM she dumped,) and the outcome of all of this is that after flaunting a few potential OW at the h and abducting her once again, the H and h have a big purple passion moment.
The next day the H disappears without a word and the h has a mopey moment. The h's snotblob sister tells her the H is in S. America and will probably be staying there. Eventually the H returns, forces himself into the h's house again and tells the h that he is sending her sister's husband to S. America- which means that he will probably be cheating away again.
The h is unhappy for her sister and starts to berate the H, but then he claims he loves her. There is a big roofie kissing moment and the H tells the h she is marrying him and she agrees for the extremely abrupt HEA.
This one was just not up to CL's usual standards. The h was interesting and I liked her, until CL realized that the h was going to have to have a personality transplant at page 165 to pull off the HEA.
I found the H and the sister and cheating slime pustule to be highly annoying and I wasn't sold on the H's protestations of affection for the h. I thought he was a game player and pursued the h because so many men around him had complained of her being more competent than they were.
(There was an undertone at parts that the H likes humbling confident women, it helps his ego to compensate for his own inner inadequacies - or maybe it was just sloppy writing.)
Whichever, this one was hard to get through and mostly boring, so I recommend skipping it for a more entertaining HPlandia outing unless you are a die hard CL fan.
The book opens as the movie/documentary director h is a driving home in a big storm. This h is the fiercely dedicated and independent sister of the doormat from The Marriage War.
Out of the night, H walks up to her car and demands a ride. The h very sensibly says no, she will call him a cab and drives off.
When she gets home, she is so hungry she forgets to call right away and a little while later, the H breaks into her house, harasses her, pulls the phone out of the wall so the h can't call for help and then berates her for being a witch because his actor cousin told him she was.
The H is either majorly infatuated with the h in her pj's or, (more likely,) he likes using his forced lurve club mojo skills to humiliate and degrade any woman who doesn't bow down before him like the doormats he knows all women to be - so he starts stalking the h.
He is also the boss of the h's sister's cheating nematode husband from the last book. The sister has totally drank the HP kool aid by this point. Her husband, the cheating nematode, hates the h because she is encouraging his doormat wife to start her own photography business and be self supporting.
(This means that the cheating nematode is liable to get the boot the next time he strays, so he has no problem being the secondary support to the H in the attempts at humiliation and subjugation of the h.)
He and the H, plus the h's jealous, meddling and spiteful doormat sister, are all about making sure the h knows how unfeminine, mean and what a utter ice witch she is for being good at her career and very exacting in her work ethic and standards, while not tolerating any patronizing from all the wanna be alpha men around her.
Throw in a lot of roofie kisses and some more treacherous body melt downs at each stalking incident, (including a multi stalker fight over the h between the stalker H and a weirdo stalker ex OM she dumped,) and the outcome of all of this is that after flaunting a few potential OW at the h and abducting her once again, the H and h have a big purple passion moment.
The next day the H disappears without a word and the h has a mopey moment. The h's snotblob sister tells her the H is in S. America and will probably be staying there. Eventually the H returns, forces himself into the h's house again and tells the h that he is sending her sister's husband to S. America- which means that he will probably be cheating away again.
The h is unhappy for her sister and starts to berate the H, but then he claims he loves her. There is a big roofie kissing moment and the H tells the h she is marrying him and she agrees for the extremely abrupt HEA.
This one was just not up to CL's usual standards. The h was interesting and I liked her, until CL realized that the h was going to have to have a personality transplant at page 165 to pull off the HEA.
I found the H and the sister and cheating slime pustule to be highly annoying and I wasn't sold on the H's protestations of affection for the h. I thought he was a game player and pursued the h because so many men around him had complained of her being more competent than they were.
(There was an undertone at parts that the H likes humbling confident women, it helps his ego to compensate for his own inner inadequacies - or maybe it was just sloppy writing.)
Whichever, this one was hard to get through and mostly boring, so I recommend skipping it for a more entertaining HPlandia outing unless you are a die hard CL fan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2020
Hot surrender? More like a hot mess containing a bland romance, an abrupt ending and a very bitchy heroine.
Sexy Connell was a nice guy who saved Zoe's undeserving ass many times. Their love story felt weak since I didn't believe Zoe liked Connell much less loved him.
Actually, I don't think she liked people at all. Everyone she came into contact with was blessed with the "sweet" sting of her temper. There didn't seem to be an explanation other than the fact that Zoe was a film director (and the implied cliche that all artists are volatile). I think the only person she didn't snap at was her colleague, Will. Even the caterer on the film site wasn't spared her waspish tongue.
I don't know what attracted Connell to Zoe other than the physical. Like many other besotted Lamb heroes, love apparently struck him dumb and blind.
Sexy Connell was a nice guy who saved Zoe's undeserving ass many times. Their love story felt weak since I didn't believe Zoe liked Connell much less loved him.
Actually, I don't think she liked people at all. Everyone she came into contact with was blessed with the "sweet" sting of her temper. There didn't seem to be an explanation other than the fact that Zoe was a film director (and the implied cliche that all artists are volatile). I think the only person she didn't snap at was her colleague, Will. Even the caterer on the film site wasn't spared her waspish tongue.
I don't know what attracted Connell to Zoe other than the physical. Like many other besotted Lamb heroes, love apparently struck him dumb and blind.
April 12, 2023
Well, Mark from book 1 is just as much of a flaming jackass as ever.
This one had decent bones, but is bafflingly convoluted by Zoe having one accident after another, chemistry that is 90% angry, Connel’s overbearing macho attitude for the first half of the book, and too few clues to his feelings as well as too little romance to balance it off. So weird CL has written some of my favorite HPs ever but is also capable of a hot mess like this one. Book 1, which is about Zoe’s sister Sancha, is one of my most hated HPs ever. Did I mention Mark is a jackass?
This one had decent bones, but is bafflingly convoluted by Zoe having one accident after another, chemistry that is 90% angry, Connel’s overbearing macho attitude for the first half of the book, and too few clues to his feelings as well as too little romance to balance it off. So weird CL has written some of my favorite HPs ever but is also capable of a hot mess like this one. Book 1, which is about Zoe’s sister Sancha, is one of my most hated HPs ever. Did I mention Mark is a jackass?
March 14, 2019
Not bad. Many other reviewers didn’t like the heroine, she seemed a bitch for most of the book.
But this didn’t bother me since, I liked the heroine. I liked that she was a strong character, didn’t put up w any s**t from men, including the Hero. She had an actual career that she was dedicated to.
And the Hero did all the running.
But this didn’t bother me since, I liked the heroine. I liked that she was a strong character, didn’t put up w any s**t from men, including the Hero. She had an actual career that she was dedicated to.
And the Hero did all the running.
September 13, 2020
The woman Zoe was selfish. In the beginning of the book she meets the hero when he stands outside in the rain because his car broke down. She promises him to call a cab as soon as she gets home (which is only a 3 minute drive) and she forgets about him and doesn’t call a cab immediately. Only after half an hour or an hour she remembers what she had promised and she calls a cab.
She is also very selfish to her sister who is so caring about her.
The good things in the book: the man Connell is nice and caring for her and I like the kissing scenes.
But the woman makes it hard to like her. She is never nice to anyone. It is as if the only thing she has going for her is her beauty. It’s difficult to understand why he falls for her.
She is also very selfish to her sister who is so caring about her.
The good things in the book: the man Connell is nice and caring for her and I like the kissing scenes.
But the woman makes it hard to like her. She is never nice to anyone. It is as if the only thing she has going for her is her beauty. It’s difficult to understand why he falls for her.
not-interested-in-reading
August 6, 2023Did Not Read. Refuse to Read. Not My Cuppa.
April 14, 2021
The book had potential and went absolutely nowhere. I can't believe it ended the way it did. I turned the page and there was nothing more.
The heroine is a movie director who is in the midst of filming and is overworked and stressed. She's dealing with an ex-bf who's turned stalker. She sees her sister, Sancha, on weekends and dates casually but doesn't seem to be bogged down with anything other than her career. The hero is the owner and managing director of an engineering firm and the boss of Sancha's husband. (Sancha and her husband, Mark, are the MCs of a book called The Marriage War which details how Mark cheated on her. I'm not going to read it. I didn't like Mark and I can totally see him cheating on Sancha in the future.)
Connel rescues Zoe after she has a car accident and takes wonderful care of her. He's great. She is prickly and fights her feelings for him but he keeps coming around and helping her out. I do believe in a HEA for these two but the ending was too abrupt. Maybe instead of multiple scenes of Zoe listening to voicemails, CL should have spent time wrapping up the book properly. Those voicemails amounted to nothing necessary to the plot.
The heroine is a movie director who is in the midst of filming and is overworked and stressed. She's dealing with an ex-bf who's turned stalker. She sees her sister, Sancha, on weekends and dates casually but doesn't seem to be bogged down with anything other than her career. The hero is the owner and managing director of an engineering firm and the boss of Sancha's husband. (Sancha and her husband, Mark, are the MCs of a book called The Marriage War which details how Mark cheated on her. I'm not going to read it. I didn't like Mark and I can totally see him cheating on Sancha in the future.)
Connel rescues Zoe after she has a car accident and takes wonderful care of her. He's great. She is prickly and fights her feelings for him but he keeps coming around and helping her out. I do believe in a HEA for these two but the ending was too abrupt. Maybe instead of multiple scenes of Zoe listening to voicemails, CL should have spent time wrapping up the book properly. Those voicemails amounted to nothing necessary to the plot.
February 24, 2021
Disappointing despite great potential. Set up was excellent and then it fizzled. No romantic tension and not much story. He never did say why he left w/o a word after they made love, just showed back up and kind of forced her to say she loved him.
I didn't read the first book about her sister, but the sister was a nice lady with 3 kids married to another jerk.
I didn't read the first book about her sister, but the sister was a nice lady with 3 kids married to another jerk.
October 21, 2019
I mean, it is what it is. Connel is a domineering jackass and Zoe is a judgmental mess, but you figure both of those things out from like page one. If you keep reading, that's on you, not the author.
February 9, 2015
first read : 2000
reread : 2015
turun rating jadi 3* :(
Charlotte Lamb merupakan salah satu pengarang harlequin kesukaan saya. Dari sekian banyak buku Charlotte Lamb yang saya sukai buku ini termasuk kategori biasa-biasa saja, walaupun tetap jauh lebih bagus dari harlequin yang terbit sekarang ini.
Seperti biasa, ceritanya cukup sederhana dengan tokoh perempuan yang cenderung mandiri dan tidak cengeng ataupun mudah pasrah seperti kebanyakan tokoh perempuan yang banyak ditulis pada era ini. Tokoh lelakinya juga tidak posesif dan cemburuan yang keterlaluan. Jalan cerita juga lumayan naik turun dengan tambahan tokoh pendukung yaitu kakak Zoe, Sancha, yang sedikit suka ikut campur.
full review lihat disini
own-but-wont-read-or-wallbanger
February 25, 2019Zoe was enraged by Conriel Hillier's arrogance! He'd been direct, demanding and had even invited himself to her home! Well, other women might simper over his brooding good looks, but not Zoe.
Who was she trying to fool? Connel had the monopoly on sex appeal, and Zoe couldn't deny their attraction to one another, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't handle this man in her life, her feelings were too intense! But Connel always got what he wanted...and, this time, he was asking for, Zoe's passionate surrender.
Who was she trying to fool? Connel had the monopoly on sex appeal, and Zoe couldn't deny their attraction to one another, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't handle this man in her life, her feelings were too intense! But Connel always got what he wanted...and, this time, he was asking for, Zoe's passionate surrender.
February 8, 2015
i thought this one very monotone. zoe was the beautiful woman every man coveted and fell madly for. i found this hard to believe as she was a teenager at heart (not the grown-up 30 year old woman we are expected to believe!), constantly irritated and with a very foul temper. conriel is not the kind of hero dat burns the sheets or melts the candle, for me atleast. i was disappointed as i'm a big fan of CL and her heroes are usually DELICIOUS!
December 23, 2011
Connel tipikal alpha male yg rada ditaktor dan suka maksa, tapi tetap warm and sweet inside :D
Suka sama ceritanya, tipikal harlequin bgt memang, ga bnyk konflik dan ditutup happy end.. Over all lumayanlah buat bacaan selama liburan *ga nambah pikiran*
Suka sama ceritanya, tipikal harlequin bgt memang, ga bnyk konflik dan ditutup happy end.. Over all lumayanlah buat bacaan selama liburan *ga nambah pikiran*
March 11, 2012
Buku jaman dulu yg diterbitin GPU bagus" ga bosen buat dibaca ulang..
September 22, 2012
A little slow in getting started but once it does. Its quite anjoyable
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews