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Dark Pursuit
Caitlin had it all.
To the outside world she was a lucky woman. She was married to an attractive man and she lived a life of luxury.
Only Caitlin knew that her relationship with Monro Ritchie, her husband, was a hollow sham. It was ironic, then, that just as she was beginning to come to terms with her feelings for him, her past threatened to drive the final wedge between them.
Was it possible, Caitlin wondered, to mend their marriage — or were they destined to live separate lives?
To the outside world she was a lucky woman. She was married to an attractive man and she lived a life of luxury.
Only Caitlin knew that her relationship with Monro Ritchie, her husband, was a hollow sham. It was ironic, then, that just as she was beginning to come to terms with her feelings for him, her past threatened to drive the final wedge between them.
Was it possible, Caitlin wondered, to mend their marriage — or were they destined to live separate lives?
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 3, 2017
Dear Abby,
This is my problem: I was married at 17 from my small Welsh village. I was an orphan and stunningly beautiful. My husband was nice for the first six weeks until we got to Mexico for his job. Then he started drinking, gambling, going out with other women, and hitting me. The final straw was he was going to pimp me out to his friends for money. Luckily an earthquake came along and killed him. He was issued a death certificate by the government, even though his body was never found. I was trapped in the rubble for four days and became an international sensation. That lead to a modeling contract and that publicity lead me to my super rich second husband with a sweet daughter.
I told hubby I’d never love him because I’m dead inside and he didn’t seem to care. My worst problem until my dead husband showed up to blackmail me is that I think I could love rich hubby but he is a minute man in the sack.
What should I do? My rich hubby thinks I’m having an affair with a dress designer (LOL) and I’m trying to keep the bad publicity of being a bigamist away from him by initiating a quiet divorce. I’m in Spain at a super elite resort because I’m not going to wear sackcloth when I’ve got the money to be comfortable – plus the melon is delicious.
Dear Heroine,
There’s no such thing as a quiet divorce amongst the rich and famous. You need to tell rich hubby about extortionist hubby. He’ll probably find a way to keep the death-defying hubby quiet since this isn’t his first rodeo. Then use your beauty to get him in bed and demonstrate what you want. This is the 90’s! You can speak up and be happy in bed.
PS - you seem sort of shallow. I hope you'll do something with your life once you have your happy ending.
This is my problem: I was married at 17 from my small Welsh village. I was an orphan and stunningly beautiful. My husband was nice for the first six weeks until we got to Mexico for his job. Then he started drinking, gambling, going out with other women, and hitting me. The final straw was he was going to pimp me out to his friends for money. Luckily an earthquake came along and killed him. He was issued a death certificate by the government, even though his body was never found. I was trapped in the rubble for four days and became an international sensation. That lead to a modeling contract and that publicity lead me to my super rich second husband with a sweet daughter.
I told hubby I’d never love him because I’m dead inside and he didn’t seem to care. My worst problem until my dead husband showed up to blackmail me is that I think I could love rich hubby but he is a minute man in the sack.
What should I do? My rich hubby thinks I’m having an affair with a dress designer (LOL) and I’m trying to keep the bad publicity of being a bigamist away from him by initiating a quiet divorce. I’m in Spain at a super elite resort because I’m not going to wear sackcloth when I’ve got the money to be comfortable – plus the melon is delicious.
Dear Heroine,
There’s no such thing as a quiet divorce amongst the rich and famous. You need to tell rich hubby about extortionist hubby. He’ll probably find a way to keep the death-defying hubby quiet since this isn’t his first rodeo. Then use your beauty to get him in bed and demonstrate what you want. This is the 90’s! You can speak up and be happy in bed.
PS - you seem sort of shallow. I hope you'll do something with your life once you have your happy ending.
July 10, 2017
Re Dark Pursuit - Charlotte Lamb is back and this time she throws a trophy wife, forced seduction, an H with no lurve mojo, blackmail and bigamy into the mix, shakes it all up and pours out a mildly whacktastic story with echos of her older story lines.
The story starts with the 25ish h getting ready to go to a big gallery showing of Renoir. She has been married to the H for two or three years and it is very much an MOC. The gazillionaire H, in typical CL fashion saw her picture in a magazine after she became a big time model, sent his assistant to ask her out and when she said no, he chased her down himself until he caught her.
The h was not and has not been very interested in the H, she was widowed when he steamrolled her into marriage and really she mainly likes him because he has a small daughter. The h, who was orphaned at a very young age, fell in love with the little girl because she sees a reflection of herself. After her prior marriage experience at 17 going on 18 to a very abusive man, men just are not her cuppa, but the H's daughter touches her heart - tho there is a devoted nanny and a full complement of staff to care for her.
Between a very bad six months of her first marriage and an earthquake in Mexico where the h was buried under the rubble for five days before anyone found her, the h has had some mental traumas - tho her fame after her survival launched her modeling career and she has a very good surface facade.
When the H started pursuing her, she brushed him off - she thinks he only sees her as a possession and to be sure, his bedroom skillz are noticeably on the poor side. It seems he starts to warm her up a little then comes and goes and the h isn't really into that.
(I think this is the very first HP where the H's skillz are lacking. He doesn't take his time and she isn't melting with passion, so the h never really gets a chance to give rapturous moments a thorough go and what CL is slyly pointing out is that if there is no mojo magic, there isn't much of an h response either and this spells doom for the marriage.)
So the H is drowning the h in jeweled luxury and she is thinking the sparkly baubles are fitting accouterments for a showpiece wife who needs to reinforce the H's status. The h has noticed a definite decline in the marital congress visits lately and when we get to the party, the h thinks she knows why. The wife of the man hosting the showing is all over the H, this annoys the h a tad, however she is really bummed out about her current lack of life enthusiasm and much more concerned with her mental ennui. She is pretty certain divorce with the H is rather eminent and she is really going to miss the H's daughter.
Then the h sees a familiar face from the past and faints right in the middle of the party. The H carries her off to a private room and the big question is if the h is preggers. Unusually for an HP, this h knows what birth control is and uses it religiously. She figures she will be out of the H's life once he gets tired of possessing her body and she doesn't want a nasty court battle, mentally she is not up for it. The h is shocky and scared and refuses to explain what the problem is.
The next day the h gets a phone call and we find out that the h's dead husband is back and he is looking for some serious money. We get raptures of food porn when the h gets directed to the Food Hall at Harrods and CL has a great time describing the various counters and the treats they hold.
The h meets up with her dead husband and after he tries to kiss her and she bites him, he tells her she will need to pay a ton of money or he will reveal to the world that she is a bigamist. The h genuinely believed the man was dead, when the earthquake hit he was in a bar that was destroyed and the h has a death certificate.
However the slime slurper was off with another woman and decided that he was better off dead than alive, it got rid of the h (who was remarkably resistant to him pimping her out, even tho he beat her,) and it got him away from his nefarious 'business partners', to whom he owed a great deal of money- hence the attempts to pimp the h out.
The h is in a quandary. She knows she really thought the guy was dead, but her husband is a big media figure and the scandal will reverberate. There is bound to be months of lascivious press speculation and the h is at heart rather reserved, she just can't bear to have the exposure. Plus, the h is intrinsically against such a nematode parasite as her dead husband profiting off of decent people's misery. For all his insensitivity in bed, the H is a good person and the exposure for his daughter would be terribly traumatic.
The h, who really only married the H when he sorta bullied and browbeat her into it, has already told the H she doesn't love him and never will - she figures the H married her knowing this and now that they aren't married legally, the h can take off and the H can replace the h with a better, shiner model wife. So the h lies to the dead but now alive sewer sludge and heads back home to make her escape plans.
The H catches her upon her return, he notices her ear is bleeding where sewer sludge ripped her earring out and there is a big argument where the H accuses the h of having a lover. The H is always collecting information on people and has had a detective following her, so the h is rather outraged over the continued invasion of her privacy. There is an angry lance piking and the h doesn't enjoy it. She waits until the H leaves the room, takes a shower and sneaks off to her friend's fashion salon to ask one of her model friend's if she can stay at her flat for a few days. The male fashion designer is happy to see her, the model friend gives her a spare key and the h decides to take charge of her life.
Her marriage is finished and she needs a job. She has quite a bit of money saved from her modelling days, but it won't last forever and she is too old to continue modeling. That doesn't mean she can't work in a fashion house tho and she resolves to ask her few remaining friends for tips on jobs.
The model friend and the h go out to dinner and the H shows up looking for her. He wants to carry her off, but the h firmly tells him that his possession is demanding emancipation and the H is flabbergasted that she thinks that way. The h tells him they are over and the marriage is over and she walks off. The h realizes the H isn't getting the message and so she sneaks off to Spain the next day, but not before mailing a letter to the H explaining the blackmail bigamy problem.
The h gets to Spain, we get touristy things like the Alhambra and some Spanish food porn, the h has to discourage a guy who is trying to pick her up and then she winds up at a lux hotel resort on the Spanish Coast. She calls her old fashion house friend and he flies over, ostensibly to check up on the h but in reality to see if he has a chance with her. He offers her a job and the h decides she will take it, but she is very clear that romance isn't on the menu.
The h finally relaxes after being on her nerves for the whole book. Finding out she is a bigamist has actually solved several problems for her, tho she is sure the sewer sludge will try to clean her out financially, she doesn't have to worry anymore and can just get with her life. She knows the slime swiller will contact the H for money when he can't get to her, so she has no worries that the H will prove to be an effective sewer sludge remover. She almost feels sorry for the slurper, the H is really, really irate and irky when people mess up his plans and he is very good at removing problems.
Then the H shows up and he is wildly jealous and accuses the h of having an affair AGAIN. The h is tired of the nonsense and obviously the H did not get her letter. She explains in terms of one syllable and the H takes off again. Now the h can kick back and enjoy the hotel and drink a lot of afternoon wine. The fashion house friend is returning to England and the h can just recover her shattered nerves. Finally after years of trauma and suffering in silence, the h can restart her life and she wants a lot more than just a shell of a marriage with trophy status.
So she is shocked when the H comes back and waylays her in the pool. The H explains that he did not call the police, he set his detectives to work instead and found out the slime slurper committed bigamy - not the h. He was already married to a woman when he married the h and tho the abandoned first wife filed for divorce years later, the h's first marriage was never valid. The H's detectives have kicked him out of England and told him not to come back, after the H hit him really hard and bought him a plane ticket to make him go away.
The h is relieved, but now the problem exists that she is still married to the H. But she doesn't care, she isn't going back because she isn't a trophy status symbol and she wants a life and the H is bad in bed. The H accuses the h of icing him out and the h admits that is true, she also admits to herself that her feelings for the H are deeper than what she first thought. She starts to recall all the little courtship things the H has done over the years and the fact that he romantically gave her his grandmother's wedding ring and she liked it.
Still, the bedroom thing is just too much to put up with, so even tho the H swears he will ruin the fashion house friend's business, the h is sure she isn't going back to the H. Then he tells her his little girl has chicken pox and needs the h. She decides she will go back for the girl but the H is still on the no fly list. Until they wind up lurving it up and the h takes the lead and lectures him about his lack of follow through on the seduction business.
The h gives the H a very thorough lesson in the art of seduction and the H finally gets a clue. He tells the h he always loved her since he saw her picture, but she wouldn't open up to him and kept pushing him away and she explains that ladies generally need a bit more time to get into the lurve club groove of things. The H explains that he was always so desperate for her and she wasn't exactly encouraging, so he just tried to get in and out and get it over with so she wouldn't hate him. However he has now seen the light and they both declare true love forever as the h stakes her claim for the big HEA.
This one was interesting. There is the long missed CL uber possessive H, but fortunately without the well know CL physical violence. There is a forced seduction scenario, but it works in the context of the H's very poor mojo skills and the h herself says she provides what she consider's his marital rights without too much duress, unless he hurts her. When the h has had enough, she takes steps to move away from the H and given the limitations of HPlandia rules, I thought she did a decent job of it. She doesn't give into blackmail -either the slime slurper's OR the H's- and that makes this book rather unusual.
I think this book is frequently underrated. CL was really, really subtle about what the real issue in the marriage was and I think that subtlety eludes new HP readers. Bad bedroom skillz in the H isn't the norm for the HPlandia at all, so people's expectations are that the H is fine and CL's hints that he really isn't pass the newer reader by.
CL makes it clear that the h is NOT frigid, up until he became a sewer slurper, the h had a great lurve club time with her first husband. She tried to enjoy it with the H as well, but he was quick off the mark and she needed longer, her inner resentment made it impossible for her to explain to him. Plus the manner of the H's courtship, sending an assistant to ask her out initially like she was some sort of collectible errand - really put her off communicating with him because she figures he wouldn't listen anyway. Let us also not forget that this woman spent several months at only 18 in a foreign country under threat of rape by strange men and spousal abuse and THEN spent five days buried under rubble thinking she was going to die.
All in all I was amazed at her resiliency overcoming the mental trauma. But not only did she recover, she makes a huge effort in a totally HP ladylike h way to correct the mistakes she made. The HEA, after the h decides to give it one last go to get her groove on, was believable and the H proved to be decent in the end - making this one well worth an HPlandia outing.
The story starts with the 25ish h getting ready to go to a big gallery showing of Renoir. She has been married to the H for two or three years and it is very much an MOC. The gazillionaire H, in typical CL fashion saw her picture in a magazine after she became a big time model, sent his assistant to ask her out and when she said no, he chased her down himself until he caught her.
The h was not and has not been very interested in the H, she was widowed when he steamrolled her into marriage and really she mainly likes him because he has a small daughter. The h, who was orphaned at a very young age, fell in love with the little girl because she sees a reflection of herself. After her prior marriage experience at 17 going on 18 to a very abusive man, men just are not her cuppa, but the H's daughter touches her heart - tho there is a devoted nanny and a full complement of staff to care for her.
Between a very bad six months of her first marriage and an earthquake in Mexico where the h was buried under the rubble for five days before anyone found her, the h has had some mental traumas - tho her fame after her survival launched her modeling career and she has a very good surface facade.
When the H started pursuing her, she brushed him off - she thinks he only sees her as a possession and to be sure, his bedroom skillz are noticeably on the poor side. It seems he starts to warm her up a little then comes and goes and the h isn't really into that.
(I think this is the very first HP where the H's skillz are lacking. He doesn't take his time and she isn't melting with passion, so the h never really gets a chance to give rapturous moments a thorough go and what CL is slyly pointing out is that if there is no mojo magic, there isn't much of an h response either and this spells doom for the marriage.)
So the H is drowning the h in jeweled luxury and she is thinking the sparkly baubles are fitting accouterments for a showpiece wife who needs to reinforce the H's status. The h has noticed a definite decline in the marital congress visits lately and when we get to the party, the h thinks she knows why. The wife of the man hosting the showing is all over the H, this annoys the h a tad, however she is really bummed out about her current lack of life enthusiasm and much more concerned with her mental ennui. She is pretty certain divorce with the H is rather eminent and she is really going to miss the H's daughter.
Then the h sees a familiar face from the past and faints right in the middle of the party. The H carries her off to a private room and the big question is if the h is preggers. Unusually for an HP, this h knows what birth control is and uses it religiously. She figures she will be out of the H's life once he gets tired of possessing her body and she doesn't want a nasty court battle, mentally she is not up for it. The h is shocky and scared and refuses to explain what the problem is.
The next day the h gets a phone call and we find out that the h's dead husband is back and he is looking for some serious money. We get raptures of food porn when the h gets directed to the Food Hall at Harrods and CL has a great time describing the various counters and the treats they hold.
The h meets up with her dead husband and after he tries to kiss her and she bites him, he tells her she will need to pay a ton of money or he will reveal to the world that she is a bigamist. The h genuinely believed the man was dead, when the earthquake hit he was in a bar that was destroyed and the h has a death certificate.
However the slime slurper was off with another woman and decided that he was better off dead than alive, it got rid of the h (who was remarkably resistant to him pimping her out, even tho he beat her,) and it got him away from his nefarious 'business partners', to whom he owed a great deal of money- hence the attempts to pimp the h out.
The h is in a quandary. She knows she really thought the guy was dead, but her husband is a big media figure and the scandal will reverberate. There is bound to be months of lascivious press speculation and the h is at heart rather reserved, she just can't bear to have the exposure. Plus, the h is intrinsically against such a nematode parasite as her dead husband profiting off of decent people's misery. For all his insensitivity in bed, the H is a good person and the exposure for his daughter would be terribly traumatic.
The h, who really only married the H when he sorta bullied and browbeat her into it, has already told the H she doesn't love him and never will - she figures the H married her knowing this and now that they aren't married legally, the h can take off and the H can replace the h with a better, shiner model wife. So the h lies to the dead but now alive sewer sludge and heads back home to make her escape plans.
The H catches her upon her return, he notices her ear is bleeding where sewer sludge ripped her earring out and there is a big argument where the H accuses the h of having a lover. The H is always collecting information on people and has had a detective following her, so the h is rather outraged over the continued invasion of her privacy. There is an angry lance piking and the h doesn't enjoy it. She waits until the H leaves the room, takes a shower and sneaks off to her friend's fashion salon to ask one of her model friend's if she can stay at her flat for a few days. The male fashion designer is happy to see her, the model friend gives her a spare key and the h decides to take charge of her life.
Her marriage is finished and she needs a job. She has quite a bit of money saved from her modelling days, but it won't last forever and she is too old to continue modeling. That doesn't mean she can't work in a fashion house tho and she resolves to ask her few remaining friends for tips on jobs.
The model friend and the h go out to dinner and the H shows up looking for her. He wants to carry her off, but the h firmly tells him that his possession is demanding emancipation and the H is flabbergasted that she thinks that way. The h tells him they are over and the marriage is over and she walks off. The h realizes the H isn't getting the message and so she sneaks off to Spain the next day, but not before mailing a letter to the H explaining the blackmail bigamy problem.
The h gets to Spain, we get touristy things like the Alhambra and some Spanish food porn, the h has to discourage a guy who is trying to pick her up and then she winds up at a lux hotel resort on the Spanish Coast. She calls her old fashion house friend and he flies over, ostensibly to check up on the h but in reality to see if he has a chance with her. He offers her a job and the h decides she will take it, but she is very clear that romance isn't on the menu.
The h finally relaxes after being on her nerves for the whole book. Finding out she is a bigamist has actually solved several problems for her, tho she is sure the sewer sludge will try to clean her out financially, she doesn't have to worry anymore and can just get with her life. She knows the slime swiller will contact the H for money when he can't get to her, so she has no worries that the H will prove to be an effective sewer sludge remover. She almost feels sorry for the slurper, the H is really, really irate and irky when people mess up his plans and he is very good at removing problems.
Then the H shows up and he is wildly jealous and accuses the h of having an affair AGAIN. The h is tired of the nonsense and obviously the H did not get her letter. She explains in terms of one syllable and the H takes off again. Now the h can kick back and enjoy the hotel and drink a lot of afternoon wine. The fashion house friend is returning to England and the h can just recover her shattered nerves. Finally after years of trauma and suffering in silence, the h can restart her life and she wants a lot more than just a shell of a marriage with trophy status.
So she is shocked when the H comes back and waylays her in the pool. The H explains that he did not call the police, he set his detectives to work instead and found out the slime slurper committed bigamy - not the h. He was already married to a woman when he married the h and tho the abandoned first wife filed for divorce years later, the h's first marriage was never valid. The H's detectives have kicked him out of England and told him not to come back, after the H hit him really hard and bought him a plane ticket to make him go away.
The h is relieved, but now the problem exists that she is still married to the H. But she doesn't care, she isn't going back because she isn't a trophy status symbol and she wants a life and the H is bad in bed. The H accuses the h of icing him out and the h admits that is true, she also admits to herself that her feelings for the H are deeper than what she first thought. She starts to recall all the little courtship things the H has done over the years and the fact that he romantically gave her his grandmother's wedding ring and she liked it.
Still, the bedroom thing is just too much to put up with, so even tho the H swears he will ruin the fashion house friend's business, the h is sure she isn't going back to the H. Then he tells her his little girl has chicken pox and needs the h. She decides she will go back for the girl but the H is still on the no fly list. Until they wind up lurving it up and the h takes the lead and lectures him about his lack of follow through on the seduction business.
The h gives the H a very thorough lesson in the art of seduction and the H finally gets a clue. He tells the h he always loved her since he saw her picture, but she wouldn't open up to him and kept pushing him away and she explains that ladies generally need a bit more time to get into the lurve club groove of things. The H explains that he was always so desperate for her and she wasn't exactly encouraging, so he just tried to get in and out and get it over with so she wouldn't hate him. However he has now seen the light and they both declare true love forever as the h stakes her claim for the big HEA.
This one was interesting. There is the long missed CL uber possessive H, but fortunately without the well know CL physical violence. There is a forced seduction scenario, but it works in the context of the H's very poor mojo skills and the h herself says she provides what she consider's his marital rights without too much duress, unless he hurts her. When the h has had enough, she takes steps to move away from the H and given the limitations of HPlandia rules, I thought she did a decent job of it. She doesn't give into blackmail -either the slime slurper's OR the H's- and that makes this book rather unusual.
I think this book is frequently underrated. CL was really, really subtle about what the real issue in the marriage was and I think that subtlety eludes new HP readers. Bad bedroom skillz in the H isn't the norm for the HPlandia at all, so people's expectations are that the H is fine and CL's hints that he really isn't pass the newer reader by.
CL makes it clear that the h is NOT frigid, up until he became a sewer slurper, the h had a great lurve club time with her first husband. She tried to enjoy it with the H as well, but he was quick off the mark and she needed longer, her inner resentment made it impossible for her to explain to him. Plus the manner of the H's courtship, sending an assistant to ask her out initially like she was some sort of collectible errand - really put her off communicating with him because she figures he wouldn't listen anyway. Let us also not forget that this woman spent several months at only 18 in a foreign country under threat of rape by strange men and spousal abuse and THEN spent five days buried under rubble thinking she was going to die.
All in all I was amazed at her resiliency overcoming the mental trauma. But not only did she recover, she makes a huge effort in a totally HP ladylike h way to correct the mistakes she made. The HEA, after the h decides to give it one last go to get her groove on, was believable and the H proved to be decent in the end - making this one well worth an HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2016
This had a promising start. A h/H married for two years, with a cold and distant relationship. She is a former model, widowed young, whom he pursued and married when she refused to have an affair. Her first marriage has had some deep impact on her which makes her keep away from men. Either she loved the dead husband a lot or something has put her off men for good. She tells the H that she doesn’t love him and don’t expect it in the future as well. So the question is why they still went ahead with the marriage. For him, we can say he dint mind so long as he got her in bed, or as we veteran HP readers know that he was completely smitten and was confident that he would be able to break through her barriers.
But what justifies her agreeing to this marriage. According to her one of the reasons was that she fell in love with the H’s little daughter. That sounded so incredible and unbelievable. (And this was the same child whom she dint even say goodbye to, forgot worry about when she ran out on her marriage later in the book.)
They have an emotionless and cold sex life where he visits her bedroom occasionally and does what he came to do and leaves without a word. Apparently things were better in the beginning but deteriorated in the second year.
I prefer an ow drama to an om mess anyday. And this blackmail by
I hardly saw proof of their love or even the chances of a developing relationship at any time in the book. For the first half we have the detached distant vibes between the two and in the second half she runs off to Majorca? giving us a filler chapter or two and he follows her to continue grabbing, shaking, abusing her and alleging cheating.
The turnabout in their sex life in the last chapter was mindboggling. From a longsuffering dummy/mannequin (he accuses her of being some such thing), she goes all aggressive on him. She was calling all the shots and even goes down on him, and tells him that raping her will not do in the future and he better start satisfying her from now on or else…!
But what justifies her agreeing to this marriage. According to her one of the reasons was that she fell in love with the H’s little daughter. That sounded so incredible and unbelievable. (And this was the same child whom she dint even say goodbye to, forgot worry about when she ran out on her marriage later in the book.)
They have an emotionless and cold sex life where he visits her bedroom occasionally and does what he came to do and leaves without a word. Apparently things were better in the beginning but deteriorated in the second year.
I prefer an ow drama to an om mess anyday. And this blackmail by
I hardly saw proof of their love or even the chances of a developing relationship at any time in the book. For the first half we have the detached distant vibes between the two and in the second half she runs off to Majorca? giving us a filler chapter or two and he follows her to continue grabbing, shaking, abusing her and alleging cheating.
The turnabout in their sex life in the last chapter was mindboggling. From a longsuffering dummy/mannequin (he accuses her of being some such thing), she goes all aggressive on him. She was calling all the shots and even goes down on him, and tells him that raping her will not do in the future and he better start satisfying her from now on or else…!
February 13, 2009
Caitlin has been a trophy wife to Monro, one of the richest dudes in the UK for 2 years. Then her first husband shows up and she has a slight bigamy problem.
The book is nothing but a series of the following:
"I am leaving you, Monro."
"No, you're not. You are my wife and I still want you even if you dont like me touching you."
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
The book is nothing but a series of the following:
"I am leaving you, Monro."
"No, you're not. You are my wife and I still want you even if you dont like me touching you."
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
December 15, 2025
My first Harlequin toxic heroine~~
The formula usually has
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The formula usually has
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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June 7, 2020
3.5 stars
Monro was a very jealous and possessive hero, and I loved it! The bonuses? The tiny tidbits of food porn and suspense.
Monro secretly fell in love with Caitlin, a model, after seeing her face on a magazine cover, and married her knowing she didn't love him. They'd agreed to a marriage of convenience with these terms: she'd be his hostess, sleep with him, and be a mother to his young daughter (there was barely any mention of his first marriage to his deceased wife). In return, she'd receive wealth, status, and access to his child whom she already loved. Monro never told Caitlin he loved her because he feared her ridicule, or causing her embarrassment. He'd tried to show her without saying the words, but eventually stopped trying outside and inside the bedroom. (It's obvious to readers he loved Caitlin, but not to her.)
Caitlin, meanwhile, had Monro figuratively by the balls, putting him through the emotional wringer with her Ice Queen act. It's easy to see why some readers didn't like her. I thought the author wrote her with enough layers to render her partially sympathetic. Her fears were understandable yet she only ever saw their marriage through her own eyes, rarely taking the time to understand Monro's perspective and motivations. Caitlin's characterization was a realistic portrayal as the author explored both her strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, Caitlin did soften towards Munro on occasion so she wasn't completely impervious to him.
Caitlin didn't want to love and trust a man again because of her brief, abusive marriage to her first husband. It had been on their honeymoon that she realized she'd made a mistake by marrying a triple threat: an alcoholic, a gambler, and a womanizer all in one. As for Monro, she believed he viewed her as just another possession to own (he's so rich that his implied nickname is "Ritchie Rich"). She desired more tenderness from him, but didn't realize she'd inadvertently pushed him away with her bitchiness, er, bitterness. There's more to the first husband subplot, but I won't spoil it as it's best experienced going in blind.
This was the most riveting book I've read by this author in a while (thanks to Diya for recommending). I just needed a tad more tenderness from Caitlin towards Monro to rate this a solid four stars.
Monro was a very jealous and possessive hero, and I loved it! The bonuses? The tiny tidbits of food porn and suspense.
Monro secretly fell in love with Caitlin, a model, after seeing her face on a magazine cover, and married her knowing she didn't love him. They'd agreed to a marriage of convenience with these terms: she'd be his hostess, sleep with him, and be a mother to his young daughter (there was barely any mention of his first marriage to his deceased wife). In return, she'd receive wealth, status, and access to his child whom she already loved. Monro never told Caitlin he loved her because he feared her ridicule, or causing her embarrassment. He'd tried to show her without saying the words, but eventually stopped trying outside and inside the bedroom. (It's obvious to readers he loved Caitlin, but not to her.)
Caitlin, meanwhile, had Monro figuratively by the balls, putting him through the emotional wringer with her Ice Queen act. It's easy to see why some readers didn't like her. I thought the author wrote her with enough layers to render her partially sympathetic. Her fears were understandable yet she only ever saw their marriage through her own eyes, rarely taking the time to understand Monro's perspective and motivations. Caitlin's characterization was a realistic portrayal as the author explored both her strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, Caitlin did soften towards Munro on occasion so she wasn't completely impervious to him.
Caitlin didn't want to love and trust a man again because of her brief, abusive marriage to her first husband. It had been on their honeymoon that she realized she'd made a mistake by marrying a triple threat: an alcoholic, a gambler, and a womanizer all in one. As for Monro, she believed he viewed her as just another possession to own (he's so rich that his implied nickname is "Ritchie Rich"). She desired more tenderness from him, but didn't realize she'd inadvertently pushed him away with her bitchiness, er, bitterness. There's more to the first husband subplot, but I won't spoil it as it's best experienced going in blind.
This was the most riveting book I've read by this author in a while (thanks to Diya for recommending). I just needed a tad more tenderness from Caitlin towards Monro to rate this a solid four stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2019
"Dark Pursuit" is the story of Caitlin and Monro.
Honestly, this just annoyed me.
The heroine is married to the hero, her uber hot alpha husband, who makes emotionless wild love to her but otherwise has a cold demeanor. She basically married him for his cute daughter Gill, whom she loves. When a man from the past re-emerges, the heroine chooses to tuck her tail and run instead of facing the storm, but the hero does not let her go. After much drama, the truth is revealed, and after even more protests, they finally admit their lurve for one another and the end.
Honestly, this was the nicest way I could describe this clusterfuck. The heroine was so stupid and such a self pity-er, the hero hot and possessive. Their emotions were fierce but I wish she would have had more spunk or backbone.
Gah.
SWE
2.5/5
Honestly, this just annoyed me.
The heroine is married to the hero, her uber hot alpha husband, who makes emotionless wild love to her but otherwise has a cold demeanor. She basically married him for his cute daughter Gill, whom she loves. When a man from the past re-emerges, the heroine chooses to tuck her tail and run instead of facing the storm, but the hero does not let her go. After much drama, the truth is revealed, and after even more protests, they finally admit their lurve for one another and the end.
Honestly, this was the nicest way I could describe this clusterfuck. The heroine was so stupid and such a self pity-er, the hero hot and possessive. Their emotions were fierce but I wish she would have had more spunk or backbone.
Gah.
SWE
2.5/5
January 8, 2022
Not one of ms lamb’s best.
There’s a heroine who married the hero for his daughter- apparently.
She coldly told him she didn’t love him and he wasn’t perturbed, he accepted that he could have her as his wife, mother of his lil daughter, and he could have sex with her.
Mmmm not so good.
Both characters are unpleasant, but the heroine was a cold bitch, a figure that often we can find in cl’s books, together with an obsessed hero who is unable to explain his feelings and uses sex assault as a means of communication.
So, the heroine had a brief and traumatic marriage with the husband from hell, a man who used her and then wanted to pimp her out and when she refused he beat her. Thank goodness he died, but the heroine swore she would never love again.
The hero has a cold and frozen wife and after two years he gave up sex with her - and who could blame him, she played the martyr all the time.
The poor man is also flirting with a more willing and hot blooded woman, one who doesn’t flinch each time he gets near as if he was a dead mouse.
I really could understand him, the heroine was awful.
After all he was always kind, nice and he tried to please her in every way and she still resented him.
First time in my book experience I wanted the hero to have some fun with another woman.
Sadly not this time.
The heroine’s first husband is not dead though.
He comes up and he tries to blackmail the heroine.
She, instead of telling her husband everything, runs away, and has a pleasant holiday in Spain, leaving both men to deal with each other.
Nice person, really.
Good for her that her poor husbands didn’t meet- accidentally.
The hero finds her and persuades her to tell him the truth.
Since the man is not only filthy rich but also powerful and very clever, in half a day he gets rid of om.
Then he has another big problem. The heroine doesn’t want to go back to him.
She wants a separation.
Because he never told her he loves her. Why should he??? She told him she would never loved him!
But now she understood she loves him and oh, she wants his love and at once, now, please, quickly!
This heroine.
Eventually of course the hero tells her he loved her all along but wouldn’t risk debasing himself since he knew she didn’t love him and wasn’t interested in his love.
Of course. Cristal clear.
Both characters are unpleasant.
The heroine is cold, selfish and coward.
The hero is obsessed and jealous.
There’s mauling, punishing kisses, forced seduction and the hero is not even the greatest lover ( the heroine has to ask for her pleasure, oh god!)
There’s a woman who flirts with hero but nothing more, there’s a man who is around the heroine but he’s not romantically interested, there’s a daughter who’s never seen… creepy.
So many inconsistencies.
And their relationship is made of brutal kisses and manhandling and shaking…
I can understand that this heroine doesn’t inspire tenderness and warm but all that physical abuse was not the best way to deal with a woman who already had endured an abusive man. But this is cl and her heroes. You have to expect some slaps, bruising kisses and many many shakes. Those were the days.
Average book, with some trigger.
There’s a heroine who married the hero for his daughter- apparently.
She coldly told him she didn’t love him and he wasn’t perturbed, he accepted that he could have her as his wife, mother of his lil daughter, and he could have sex with her.
Mmmm not so good.
Both characters are unpleasant, but the heroine was a cold bitch, a figure that often we can find in cl’s books, together with an obsessed hero who is unable to explain his feelings and uses sex assault as a means of communication.
So, the heroine had a brief and traumatic marriage with the husband from hell, a man who used her and then wanted to pimp her out and when she refused he beat her. Thank goodness he died, but the heroine swore she would never love again.
The hero has a cold and frozen wife and after two years he gave up sex with her - and who could blame him, she played the martyr all the time.
The poor man is also flirting with a more willing and hot blooded woman, one who doesn’t flinch each time he gets near as if he was a dead mouse.
I really could understand him, the heroine was awful.
After all he was always kind, nice and he tried to please her in every way and she still resented him.
First time in my book experience I wanted the hero to have some fun with another woman.
Sadly not this time.
The heroine’s first husband is not dead though.
He comes up and he tries to blackmail the heroine.
She, instead of telling her husband everything, runs away, and has a pleasant holiday in Spain, leaving both men to deal with each other.
Nice person, really.
Good for her that her poor husbands didn’t meet- accidentally.
The hero finds her and persuades her to tell him the truth.
Since the man is not only filthy rich but also powerful and very clever, in half a day he gets rid of om.
Then he has another big problem. The heroine doesn’t want to go back to him.
She wants a separation.
Because he never told her he loves her. Why should he??? She told him she would never loved him!
But now she understood she loves him and oh, she wants his love and at once, now, please, quickly!
This heroine.
Eventually of course the hero tells her he loved her all along but wouldn’t risk debasing himself since he knew she didn’t love him and wasn’t interested in his love.
Of course. Cristal clear.
Both characters are unpleasant.
The heroine is cold, selfish and coward.
The hero is obsessed and jealous.
There’s mauling, punishing kisses, forced seduction and the hero is not even the greatest lover ( the heroine has to ask for her pleasure, oh god!)
There’s a woman who flirts with hero but nothing more, there’s a man who is around the heroine but he’s not romantically interested, there’s a daughter who’s never seen… creepy.
So many inconsistencies.
And their relationship is made of brutal kisses and manhandling and shaking…
I can understand that this heroine doesn’t inspire tenderness and warm but all that physical abuse was not the best way to deal with a woman who already had endured an abusive man. But this is cl and her heroes. You have to expect some slaps, bruising kisses and many many shakes. Those were the days.
Average book, with some trigger.
August 25, 2018
Thank you,my GR friend for recommending this AWESOME book to me...
it changed my whole world...
I have never before read any book by Lamb but several of her books has been in my "want to read" list and i have known that many romance lovers appreciates her as on of the best in the genre and reading "Dark Pursuit" as my first book i understand perfectly why.
The plot are intruging and uniqe in a way i have never read before.About a heroine who has got through the worst kind of abusing marriage and are only afraid to trust and ever love again.I understood Caitlin very well when i got to know her,and her coldness and rejection towards the hero somehow reminded me of "The Failed Marriage" by CM.
I fell in love with the hero on first sight,Monro Ritchie is a dark-haired,sexy devil who is a passionate and possessive type of hero (oh how i fell for him).His intense Alpha-male charisma just made me melt with every scene with him and Caitlin.It was clear of his desperate craving for her love and that he was suspicous and unsure which leaded to his mad jealousy .They had a high loaded of sexy chemistry and were both hot and SO SO SO HOT together.
"Dark Pursuit" was written with a easy and sensual language,and with me having finished it in barely an hour,that was no surprise.This has to be on of the most satisfying angsty-filled romantic books of HR.Really wort a big FAT FIVE-STAR!
That son of a bastard sick psycho ex-husband of her made me really sick and i was so glad as to how Monro got back at him.That way i was glad for Caitlin telling her husband the truth.
it changed my whole world...
I have never before read any book by Lamb but several of her books has been in my "want to read" list and i have known that many romance lovers appreciates her as on of the best in the genre and reading "Dark Pursuit" as my first book i understand perfectly why.
The plot are intruging and uniqe in a way i have never read before.About a heroine who has got through the worst kind of abusing marriage and are only afraid to trust and ever love again.I understood Caitlin very well when i got to know her,and her coldness and rejection towards the hero somehow reminded me of "The Failed Marriage" by CM.
I fell in love with the hero on first sight,Monro Ritchie is a dark-haired,sexy devil who is a passionate and possessive type of hero (oh how i fell for him).His intense Alpha-male charisma just made me melt with every scene with him and Caitlin.It was clear of his desperate craving for her love and that he was suspicous and unsure which leaded to his mad jealousy .They had a high loaded of sexy chemistry and were both hot and SO SO SO HOT together.
"Dark Pursuit" was written with a easy and sensual language,and with me having finished it in barely an hour,that was no surprise.This has to be on of the most satisfying angsty-filled romantic books of HR.Really wort a big FAT FIVE-STAR!
That son of a bastard sick psycho ex-husband of her made me really sick and i was so glad as to how Monro got back at him.That way i was glad for Caitlin telling her husband the truth.
January 8, 2018
I mostly liked that it was pretty obvious her husband was crazy about her right from the get-go. Some fun intrigue, running away, stalking, jealousy, and sex. The ending was a bit rushed IMO, but I liked it overall.
March 28, 2013
This is a fairly rapey old HP, but if you can get past that, I thought it was pretty decent. Very angsty, and I liked that you could tell the hero had loved her for a while, and the heroine was just clueless, scared, and proud. The portrayal of sex between the hero and heroine was odd -- sometimes it implied that she enjoyed it, and other times it implied that the hero just used her without any care at all for her pleasure. Of course by the end it's all resolved and it's clear that they both enjoy the sex from that point onward, but I thought that was unusual and interesting in an older HP.
November 20, 2014
The heroine's first not-so-dead husband made this book interesting. I there had been more of him in it, even if he was a creep. I felt like the hero's daughter should've had more time too.
June 29, 2016
I like the drama queen! Lol. Okay I enjoy read this one.
November 22, 2018
The other reviewers have done a good job summarising this book, so I won’t bother doing another.
It was not a bad book, quite unusual in that the couple’s marital problems stem from sex. Normally when we have heroine’s who can’t control their passions in the presence of the Hero, here we get one where the couple just don’t connect in a physical manner.
It was hard for me to read about this since chemistry between a couple is such a fundamental basis for a future HEA. Charlotte Lamb is an excellent writer, so I did experience how the wife felt cold towards her husband, she was actually apprehensive about him touching her.
In the end I could also feel his pain because it’s hard to sustain your passions when you know the other person is merely enduring your touch!
Maybe it would have been a 4-star because there was a lot of angst and most of the book deals with the wife’s stress at being blackmailed...but then.
In the end, it was an interesting read.
It was not a bad book, quite unusual in that the couple’s marital problems stem from sex. Normally when we have heroine’s who can’t control their passions in the presence of the Hero, here we get one where the couple just don’t connect in a physical manner.
It was hard for me to read about this since chemistry between a couple is such a fundamental basis for a future HEA. Charlotte Lamb is an excellent writer, so I did experience how the wife felt cold towards her husband, she was actually apprehensive about him touching her.
In the end I could also feel his pain because it’s hard to sustain your passions when you know the other person is merely enduring your touch!
Maybe it would have been a 4-star because there was a lot of angst and most of the book deals with the wife’s stress at being blackmailed...but then.
In the end, it was an interesting read.
January 25, 2022
This could have a been a path breaking one, with the author breaking one of the cardinal rules of HP Land, that the hero has to be fantastic in bed !!!! Here the fellow is a billionaire (duh, some solace !), married to a trophy wife, but she doesn't enjoy their sex life !!!!
Actually, I would have loved it if the author had stuck to the basic problem statement. Ex-husband was a scum bag, drinker, immoral, womaniser, blah blah. But he was fantastic in bed !! Kept our young little heroine satisfied. Of course the blinkers fall off soon and she realises she is in a sordid mess. The scum bag hubby conks off soon, thankfully.
In contrast, there is Monro. Her second husband. A gazillionaire, but they have a stiff relationship, too formal, too staid. And the fellow doesn't DO IT WELL !!!! @#@#@#@#
But CL digresses from this fantastic conflict. And instead brings the dead husband back for blackmail. Plants another OM, a colleague who works with the heroine in the fashion industry. Our girl was a hot shot model in between Husband 1 & 2 !!!!
Monro's jealousies, forced sex, nasty fights over the inconsequential OM colleague. Just unnecessary non-sense.
There is also the mandatory designer clothes, jewellery baubles and high society party talk. Women readers don't always need to read all these fancy things, you know. Its a good story that actually keeps us hooked. Not the just the glitz and glamour.
Anyway, the story takes some bizarre turns. If hubby #1 returns, does that make marriage #2 illegal? Yes, of course ! So CL invents a past wedding for the hubby #1. That means marriage #1 for the heroine is illegal. That makes marriage #2 legal !@?#@$$%$%$@%@#@
I was flabbergasted with all this zany mess ! Just put me off...
Actually, I would have loved it if the author had stuck to the basic problem statement. Ex-husband was a scum bag, drinker, immoral, womaniser, blah blah. But he was fantastic in bed !! Kept our young little heroine satisfied. Of course the blinkers fall off soon and she realises she is in a sordid mess. The scum bag hubby conks off soon, thankfully.
In contrast, there is Monro. Her second husband. A gazillionaire, but they have a stiff relationship, too formal, too staid. And the fellow doesn't DO IT WELL !!!! @#@#@#@#
But CL digresses from this fantastic conflict. And instead brings the dead husband back for blackmail. Plants another OM, a colleague who works with the heroine in the fashion industry. Our girl was a hot shot model in between Husband 1 & 2 !!!!
Monro's jealousies, forced sex, nasty fights over the inconsequential OM colleague. Just unnecessary non-sense.
There is also the mandatory designer clothes, jewellery baubles and high society party talk. Women readers don't always need to read all these fancy things, you know. Its a good story that actually keeps us hooked. Not the just the glitz and glamour.
Anyway, the story takes some bizarre turns. If hubby #1 returns, does that make marriage #2 illegal? Yes, of course ! So CL invents a past wedding for the hubby #1. That means marriage #1 for the heroine is illegal. That makes marriage #2 legal !@?#@$$%$%$@%@#@
I was flabbergasted with all this zany mess ! Just put me off...
June 13, 2021
Unusual Charlotte Lamb HP. Rich, bossy guy? Yes. Obnoxious other man? Yes! Creep. Oh, the Other Other Man? The wanna-be other man/former boss and good friend? He's a nice enough guy and no one should worry about him although hero does.
A couple differences make this stand out. The little girl, his daughter from marriage to dead wife is there but plays no role other than a magnet to tie our heroine to him. And a big one, he's not a very good lover. It's more than simply lacking emotional connection or telling her that he loves her, more than being a decent friend and lover. He goes too fast and he talks too much so she loses interest and/or gets angry. Oops.
The romance is believable but it's not the focus of the book; instead the focus is on trust, on believing each other, on commitment. The ending is a bit disappointing as she shows him what she means about taking time. There is a HEA but it gets a bit lost in the bedroom scene.
A couple differences make this stand out. The little girl, his daughter from marriage to dead wife is there but plays no role other than a magnet to tie our heroine to him. And a big one, he's not a very good lover. It's more than simply lacking emotional connection or telling her that he loves her, more than being a decent friend and lover. He goes too fast and he talks too much so she loses interest and/or gets angry. Oops.
The romance is believable but it's not the focus of the book; instead the focus is on trust, on believing each other, on commitment. The ending is a bit disappointing as she shows him what she means about taking time. There is a HEA but it gets a bit lost in the bedroom scene.
June 5, 2025
Charlotte Lamb writes about falling in love as if it were a psychological thriller. The scene where Caitlin starts realizing that she’s jealous of a woman talking to Monro before it cuts away to her getting served some champagne is brilliantly written. The tone is suspenseful throughout. Caitlin’s POV is also consistent and strong - the reader’s perception of Monro is colored by her own trauma, up to the very end. Monro is the typical possessive alpha-hole found in vintage romances. I think he’s alright, and how nice for Caitlin that this billionaire loved her from the beginning, but she seriously needs therapy. An entertaining read.
Trope: Marriage of convenience
Content warning: Non-con, dub-con, domestic violence
Steam level: 3/5 (Open door with mostly euphemistic language)
Availability: Print
Edition reviewed: Print
Trope: Marriage of convenience
Content warning: Non-con, dub-con, domestic violence
Steam level: 3/5 (Open door with mostly euphemistic language)
Availability: Print
Edition reviewed: Print
January 17, 2019
Avoid. Definitely not one of Charlotte Lamb's best works.
Want to Read
March 8, 2021Very like this book
October 22, 2022
3.5 🌟⭐️⭐️This is a marriage in trouble trope and it had an exciting plot! I think it needed some help in the last third of the book it seemed like CL didn’t quite know how to end it.
December 21, 2024
#200 - 2024
Genre: Romance, Harlequin
Genre: Romance, Harlequin
June 30, 2020
Nice story but she needed counseling. She had a horrible first marriage and she wasnt over that, the sex was not that good but they
December 17, 2019
I’ve read a few Charlotte Lambs’ now that feature a dominant/forceful alpha(hole) hero and a heroine dealing with abuse from someone else, and generally I think she handles that seemingly incompatible dichotomy quite well (it also helps that no one reads 90s’ Mills & Boon for their feminist hot takes).
This one could have been better on several fronts; the abuser was several times described in the same terms dominant/forceful alpha M&B heroes generally are (which is just confusing, I actually once checked the blurb to make sure I hadn’t mixed up who the hero was meant to be), and the actual hero was often particularly unsympathetic and unpleasant (at one point he calls the heroine stupid for falling for the man who would go on to frightfully abuse her).
However there were still some glimmers of some interesting observations, and it’s a unique book in that the h and H weren’t automatically having satisfying sex, and the heroine gets to tell the H how to improve his performance in bed. That was fun.
Overall I think it could have been stronger had it concentrated more on the internal dynamic between the hero and heroine (which was much more interesting) and on saving their marriage, and less on OM drama.
This one could have been better on several fronts; the abuser was several times described in the same terms dominant/forceful alpha M&B heroes generally are (which is just confusing, I actually once checked the blurb to make sure I hadn’t mixed up who the hero was meant to be), and the actual hero was often particularly unsympathetic and unpleasant (at one point he calls the heroine stupid for falling for the man who would go on to frightfully abuse her).
However there were still some glimmers of some interesting observations, and it’s a unique book in that the h and H weren’t automatically having satisfying sex, and the heroine gets to tell the H how to improve his performance in bed. That was fun.
Overall I think it could have been stronger had it concentrated more on the internal dynamic between the hero and heroine (which was much more interesting) and on saving their marriage, and less on OM drama.
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May 2, 2013 Udah pernah baca buku ini dulu. kemaren mau di cumi ama temenku. dia ga inget judul bukunya.. tapi dia inget nama lengkap heronya... wow.... sedang aku malah udah blank aja semuabttg buku ini.bikin panasaran aja.
Akhirnya si re-read lah sebelum di cumi dia.
Dan ternyata..... pas udah baca, jadi sadar. Ternyata hq terbitan jadul malah lebih bagus daripada hq yang baru baru terbit.
Emosi ceritanya ada... alurnya naik turun ga so so... walau seperti biasa ide ceritanya klise. Tipe Cinderella. ;)
Jadi pas dipikir pikir yah. 4 bintang layak buat buku hq ini.
Akhirnya si re-read lah sebelum di cumi dia.
Dan ternyata..... pas udah baca, jadi sadar. Ternyata hq terbitan jadul malah lebih bagus daripada hq yang baru baru terbit.
Emosi ceritanya ada... alurnya naik turun ga so so... walau seperti biasa ide ceritanya klise. Tipe Cinderella. ;)
Jadi pas dipikir pikir yah. 4 bintang layak buat buku hq ini.
May 1, 2015
Sewaktu menikahi Monro Ritchie beberapa tahun yang lalu, Caitlin memang tidak mencintainya. Tidak peduli selembut atau semesra apapun Monro memperlakukannya Caitlin selalu menjaga agar hatinya tetap dingin kepada suaminya tersebut.
Review lengkap silakan klik disini
Review lengkap silakan klik disini
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December 13, 2010Read the English edition, between 1993-1998
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