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Running Scared
Elin didn't want Garel in her life
He'd caused her too much unhappiness the first time. To think he'd had the gall to barge into her calm, well-ordered life for the second time unnerved her.
A lot of water had flowed under the bridge since they'd parted. And her marriage and subsequent divorce from another man was none of his business.
But when Garel said, "You're the same wayward witch I knew four years ago--and I still want you!", she knew she was dealing with a very determined man....
He'd caused her too much unhappiness the first time. To think he'd had the gall to barge into her calm, well-ordered life for the second time unnerved her.
A lot of water had flowed under the bridge since they'd parted. And her marriage and subsequent divorce from another man was none of his business.
But when Garel said, "You're the same wayward witch I knew four years ago--and I still want you!", she knew she was dealing with a very determined man....
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 11, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 6, 2017
Re Running Scared - Jenny Arden's farewell voyage in HPlandia is a cross between a second chance romance and an h in recovery from her very abusive first marriage.
This one starts with the 24 yr old h reluctantly going to her accountant's big party. Her accountant is in love with her, but she doesn't know it. He is hoping to use the party as a pretext to getting to know the h better but he ends up re-introducing her to her former lover instead. The h is not happy to see the old flame and he is a bit acerbic to her. The h tries to avoid him for most of the evening until he maneuvers her into accepting a ride to her home in his car.
The h has deliberately given the H the impression that she is still married, but the H isn't to be deterred and ends up roofie kissing her in her living room. Then the H explains that he knows she is divorced and wants to know why she did not tell him. The h refuses to explain and he leaves, with that immortal line that works in both Sci Fi and HPlandia - "I'll Be Back."
The h flashes back to her relationship with the H and it goes like this. The h is Welsh and her father owns a textile business. When she was 18 she was engaged to a local lad and he had to finish his dissertation over the summer. So she went home to work with dad and met the H when her dad hired him as a business consultant to keep the textile mill in business. The H made the h feel funny, but she never really paid much attention until he gave her a ride back to London one day and she fell into bed with him that night.
To be fair, the H was much older and INTENT on seduction. He pretty much forcibly seduced her for a good ten minutes before the roofie lurve mojo took over. The next day the h was convinced she was in love and all ready to break her engagement, then she picked the H's jacket up off the floor and his wallet fell out. It opened up to a picture of the H with a woman and a boy that looked exactly like him. Recalling that the H remarked that he liked ladies when he had a weekend alone, the h figures she just got played by a married man. She dumps the H like a hot potato and she also breaks her engagement.
Only to reinstate the engagement some months later when her ex gets really sick and almost dies and he and his mother and her dad kinda guilt her into it. Eventually the h and her ex marry, but he turned out to be a very violent drunk and when they went to live in Canada, the h had to plot her escape and a divorce after he left one too many scars on her body from his abuse. The h returned to England, got herself set up in a little high street boutique and has been contentedly independent for the last two years.
She isn't looking for love, cause in her two experiences, men are just not trustworthy. She does have a cat, his name is Sam and he is very cute and fluffy and the h rescued him from being an alley cat. Sam doesn't get a whole lot of page time, but he does shed white hairs in approval all over the H and he doesn't like the OW. The h had to work really hard to win Sam over, but she got there in the end and he and the h are pretty happy with each other. We really needed more of Sam and the h should have paid more attention to her relationship with him as to how a proper loving relationship should be.
So the H keeps showing up to pursue the h and he goes to her boutique looking for a scarf. They verbally spar, as they always do until the H gets tired and then roofie kisses her, and this time the verbal battle leads to accusations of the h's tartiness and amoral infidelity. The h claims that him accusing her of being unfaithful is hilarious cause she broke her engagement and he actually seduced her when he was married. The H is shocked and runs out.
The h is wondering at the shock and pumps her accountant for information about the H's marriage, she knows his wife died, but she assumed it was relatively recent. The accountant explains that the H's wife and child died in a car accident eight years earlier. So the H wasn't married when he seduced the h. She goes to the H's house to apologize and meets the OW, wearing the scarf the H bought at the h's boutique. The OW is the H's PA and the H is highly amused when both women go into "fight for your man" mode over him.
The h apologizes for dumping the H five years ago when she thought he was married, she also explains about the broken engagement and subsequent marriage, but never explains about why she divorced. She really has a hard time talking about it, the whole thing affected her very deeply and she has a lot of shame, only her dad knows the full story. The H decides to pursue once again and they have some more back and forth until the H proposes. The h refuses and then her ex husband shows up.
He is on a break from his job in Canada and tells the h he has changed and he wants to try again. The h idiotically goes with him to tea and then he follows her home and attacks her. The H shows up at the right moment and kicks him out. The h, thinking the H is going to leave her and it sends her into another panic, tells the H she will marry him.
They get married and the h is torn between wondering if the only thing she and the H have is a fiery lurve mojo and wondering if he is still pining over his first wife and also wondering if he is still sleeping with his PA - especially when the woman shows up at the h and H's home and makes no secret that the h stole her man and claims that the H is still not over his first wife. The PA further insinuates that the H only married the h because she has a better social background than the PA does. The H is acting strangely too and it turns out that he thinks the h only married him to protect herself from her abusive ex husband. The h tells the H she loves him, but he doesn't say it back.
The h tries to tell herself that the PA woman is only talking out of spite, but the H's not saying he loves her is starting to worry her. Then H and h are supposed to go out one evening, but when she goes to the H's office and sees the H and the OW embracing through the frosted glass door, the h takes off. The h was supposed to be meeting the H at the theater and she shows up over an hour late. She had been walking all that time and decided she would just accept the H's infidelity as she can't stand to lose him. The H is very angry and they go home to fight. During the course of the fight the H breaks a glass bowl that had been his wedding gift on the occasion of the h's first marriage. The h is petrified and the H feels really bad when she starts to cry.
The h finally explains about the OW and what she said and the H tells her he was only hugging the lady because she is leaving overseas for a new job. Then he tells the h that he has been in love with her since her first saw her at her dad's textile mill and that while he did love his first wife, it was a childhood friends to lovers and when she died, he knew he could go on. The h is reassured and declares her love back along with her preggerness for the big HEA.
This one was okay, but there was so many tropes thrown in that JA pretty much skims the surface on all of them. Between the H's dead wife, the PA he probably did sleep with and probably was kissing in farewell, plus the h's own backstory of an abusive marriage made for a lot of drama but did not get a whole lot of resolution.
JA loves the cheating hubby trope and while I don't think the H cheated exactly, I think he was more involved with the PA than what he claimed and as we know of old, JA loves to have her H's dubious on the fidelity at best. Then add in that he seduced the h deliberately five years earlier when he knew she was engaged and JA doesn't really leave a lot of room for H innocence here. Plus she goes the extra step of making the sure the h commits to sticking with a cheating hubby anyways, cause after all he isn't beating her.
Which was another problem. The h has escaped a badly abusive marriage and this H isn't much better on physical restraint or on toning down the verbal violence. While he doesn't actually hit the h, he pushes her, screams at her and throws things - none of which are going to be soothing to an h who has been through the abusive ringer. He does apologize after every outburst, but her first husband did too and so I wasn't exactly buying that she was going to be happy to stick with the relationship when she keeps getting subjected to those types of situations.
Overall this one was pretty average and on a few points a bit lower than average, so while this one isn't terrible, it wasn't a great read either and there are probably better choices for an HPlandia outing.
This one starts with the 24 yr old h reluctantly going to her accountant's big party. Her accountant is in love with her, but she doesn't know it. He is hoping to use the party as a pretext to getting to know the h better but he ends up re-introducing her to her former lover instead. The h is not happy to see the old flame and he is a bit acerbic to her. The h tries to avoid him for most of the evening until he maneuvers her into accepting a ride to her home in his car.
The h has deliberately given the H the impression that she is still married, but the H isn't to be deterred and ends up roofie kissing her in her living room. Then the H explains that he knows she is divorced and wants to know why she did not tell him. The h refuses to explain and he leaves, with that immortal line that works in both Sci Fi and HPlandia - "I'll Be Back."
The h flashes back to her relationship with the H and it goes like this. The h is Welsh and her father owns a textile business. When she was 18 she was engaged to a local lad and he had to finish his dissertation over the summer. So she went home to work with dad and met the H when her dad hired him as a business consultant to keep the textile mill in business. The H made the h feel funny, but she never really paid much attention until he gave her a ride back to London one day and she fell into bed with him that night.
To be fair, the H was much older and INTENT on seduction. He pretty much forcibly seduced her for a good ten minutes before the roofie lurve mojo took over. The next day the h was convinced she was in love and all ready to break her engagement, then she picked the H's jacket up off the floor and his wallet fell out. It opened up to a picture of the H with a woman and a boy that looked exactly like him. Recalling that the H remarked that he liked ladies when he had a weekend alone, the h figures she just got played by a married man. She dumps the H like a hot potato and she also breaks her engagement.
Only to reinstate the engagement some months later when her ex gets really sick and almost dies and he and his mother and her dad kinda guilt her into it. Eventually the h and her ex marry, but he turned out to be a very violent drunk and when they went to live in Canada, the h had to plot her escape and a divorce after he left one too many scars on her body from his abuse. The h returned to England, got herself set up in a little high street boutique and has been contentedly independent for the last two years.
She isn't looking for love, cause in her two experiences, men are just not trustworthy. She does have a cat, his name is Sam and he is very cute and fluffy and the h rescued him from being an alley cat. Sam doesn't get a whole lot of page time, but he does shed white hairs in approval all over the H and he doesn't like the OW. The h had to work really hard to win Sam over, but she got there in the end and he and the h are pretty happy with each other. We really needed more of Sam and the h should have paid more attention to her relationship with him as to how a proper loving relationship should be.
So the H keeps showing up to pursue the h and he goes to her boutique looking for a scarf. They verbally spar, as they always do until the H gets tired and then roofie kisses her, and this time the verbal battle leads to accusations of the h's tartiness and amoral infidelity. The h claims that him accusing her of being unfaithful is hilarious cause she broke her engagement and he actually seduced her when he was married. The H is shocked and runs out.
The h is wondering at the shock and pumps her accountant for information about the H's marriage, she knows his wife died, but she assumed it was relatively recent. The accountant explains that the H's wife and child died in a car accident eight years earlier. So the H wasn't married when he seduced the h. She goes to the H's house to apologize and meets the OW, wearing the scarf the H bought at the h's boutique. The OW is the H's PA and the H is highly amused when both women go into "fight for your man" mode over him.
The h apologizes for dumping the H five years ago when she thought he was married, she also explains about the broken engagement and subsequent marriage, but never explains about why she divorced. She really has a hard time talking about it, the whole thing affected her very deeply and she has a lot of shame, only her dad knows the full story. The H decides to pursue once again and they have some more back and forth until the H proposes. The h refuses and then her ex husband shows up.
He is on a break from his job in Canada and tells the h he has changed and he wants to try again. The h idiotically goes with him to tea and then he follows her home and attacks her. The H shows up at the right moment and kicks him out. The h, thinking the H is going to leave her and it sends her into another panic, tells the H she will marry him.
They get married and the h is torn between wondering if the only thing she and the H have is a fiery lurve mojo and wondering if he is still pining over his first wife and also wondering if he is still sleeping with his PA - especially when the woman shows up at the h and H's home and makes no secret that the h stole her man and claims that the H is still not over his first wife. The PA further insinuates that the H only married the h because she has a better social background than the PA does. The H is acting strangely too and it turns out that he thinks the h only married him to protect herself from her abusive ex husband. The h tells the H she loves him, but he doesn't say it back.
The h tries to tell herself that the PA woman is only talking out of spite, but the H's not saying he loves her is starting to worry her. Then H and h are supposed to go out one evening, but when she goes to the H's office and sees the H and the OW embracing through the frosted glass door, the h takes off. The h was supposed to be meeting the H at the theater and she shows up over an hour late. She had been walking all that time and decided she would just accept the H's infidelity as she can't stand to lose him. The H is very angry and they go home to fight. During the course of the fight the H breaks a glass bowl that had been his wedding gift on the occasion of the h's first marriage. The h is petrified and the H feels really bad when she starts to cry.
The h finally explains about the OW and what she said and the H tells her he was only hugging the lady because she is leaving overseas for a new job. Then he tells the h that he has been in love with her since her first saw her at her dad's textile mill and that while he did love his first wife, it was a childhood friends to lovers and when she died, he knew he could go on. The h is reassured and declares her love back along with her preggerness for the big HEA.
This one was okay, but there was so many tropes thrown in that JA pretty much skims the surface on all of them. Between the H's dead wife, the PA he probably did sleep with and probably was kissing in farewell, plus the h's own backstory of an abusive marriage made for a lot of drama but did not get a whole lot of resolution.
JA loves the cheating hubby trope and while I don't think the H cheated exactly, I think he was more involved with the PA than what he claimed and as we know of old, JA loves to have her H's dubious on the fidelity at best. Then add in that he seduced the h deliberately five years earlier when he knew she was engaged and JA doesn't really leave a lot of room for H innocence here. Plus she goes the extra step of making the sure the h commits to sticking with a cheating hubby anyways, cause after all he isn't beating her.
Which was another problem. The h has escaped a badly abusive marriage and this H isn't much better on physical restraint or on toning down the verbal violence. While he doesn't actually hit the h, he pushes her, screams at her and throws things - none of which are going to be soothing to an h who has been through the abusive ringer. He does apologize after every outburst, but her first husband did too and so I wasn't exactly buying that she was going to be happy to stick with the relationship when she keeps getting subjected to those types of situations.
Overall this one was pretty average and on a few points a bit lower than average, so while this one isn't terrible, it wasn't a great read either and there are probably better choices for an HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2021
My grandmother loved mills and boon books, now I read them in memory of her. This is one of the books I found somewhere in the house.
September 13, 2025
Once again, here's a book that could have been really good if the author hadn't really messed it up.
I didn't like either the H or the h all that much, because (despite the hint that they're soulmates from the moment they meet) she was engaged, and while the OM turned out to be a real crappy creep, she didn't know that at the time, and her ring didn't stop her from sleeping with the H! As for him, he was 10 years older but still acted like horny frat boy, when he should have taken a step back and given them both space to think before shedding clothes! If they have true love, then it could stand to wait until the OM got back, and then she could have broken up with him before starting things with the H.
Instead, the author chooses that old (and STUPID) trope of the h misunderstanding something and running out on the H, telling him their night together was an impulsive mistake that she regretted. On her side, at least, she was only 20 but he was 30 and should have realized there was more to this about face, because she slept with him and hadn't slept with her fiancé. Instead, he gets hurt and angry and steps out of the picture, with only a cut glass bowl as a memento (sent as a wedding gift, a la Scott Fitzgerald's famous story, only here it fell flat).
Yes, she married the OM, though she had broken up with him after her night with the H, because the guy had bad health problems from working too hard, which his mom blamed on the h, and the woman actually told the h if he dies, it would be her fault! Already feeling guilty for cheating and breaking up with him, and knowing how fond her father was of him, when he tells her he wants to forget the past and start over she agrees, and they get married!
Talk about DUMB!!! She ended up with an alcoholic abuser and I can't help feeling she deserved not the abuse, but the unhappiness for being such an idiot! Had she just confronted the H with what she had (wrongly) discovered, he would have explained everything and then they wouldn't have had five years apart, and she wouldn't have been nearly raped by the OM/ex-husband who had begun stalking her!
To make things worse, when she and the H get together again there's a whole lot of stupidity first, most of it hers, as she keeps denying her feelings, and blaming him when they come to the surface. When she learns of the mistake she made five years ago and apologizes, she does it in such a half bitchy way (due to jealousy of the OW) that you wonder if she's sorry at all.
Then she goes into martyr mode, as she lets the OW (pretty much thrown into the story just to get the jealousy trope going) convince her that the H is still in love with his late wife, and the former independent (though somewhat bitchy) boss girl turns into little Mary Sue, and runs after him, declaring she wants to marry him, thinking to herself she'll settle for what he has to give and won't expect love.
Then, she gets into another mess when (yet again) she misunderstands something! UNBELIEVABLE!
They were both dumb, since she marries him thinking his heart will always be with his late wife and he marries her thinking she wants protection from her bat crap ex. Mr. and Mrs. Nincompoop!
What's even sillier, is the book starting out from the POV of a character that you think will be the OM in the story and play a major role in it, when in reality he just has a few scenes. He would have been a much better choice for the OM than that crazy guy.
But the worst part is, when she found out he lost his son, she supposedly felt terrible about that, but gets so wrapped up in her feelings about taking a back seat to his late wife that she forgets all about that. As for the H, he dismisses the past as being over and done with, a pretty callous way to think about the loss of a child! It's one thing to forget a spouse and marry again (many people do) but forget your child????? Ask anyone who's gone through that kind of pain if they forget and put it in the past and they'll tell you "NO!!!!!" You live with it, but it always hurts. This guy acted like his neighborhood restaurant closed or a TV show he liked got cancelled. Oh well, life goes on!
This book could have been a more serious one about an abusive marriage if it had been written differently. How about the H and h meeting while he's still grieving his wife and doesn't want to move on, so she gives up and marries the OM, then later she meets the H again when she'd divorced but is afraid to get involved because of her abusive marriage? Now, that would have been a heck of a lot better than this!
I didn't like either the H or the h all that much, because (despite the hint that they're soulmates from the moment they meet) she was engaged, and while the OM turned out to be a real crappy creep, she didn't know that at the time, and her ring didn't stop her from sleeping with the H! As for him, he was 10 years older but still acted like horny frat boy, when he should have taken a step back and given them both space to think before shedding clothes! If they have true love, then it could stand to wait until the OM got back, and then she could have broken up with him before starting things with the H.
Instead, the author chooses that old (and STUPID) trope of the h misunderstanding something and running out on the H, telling him their night together was an impulsive mistake that she regretted. On her side, at least, she was only 20 but he was 30 and should have realized there was more to this about face, because she slept with him and hadn't slept with her fiancé. Instead, he gets hurt and angry and steps out of the picture, with only a cut glass bowl as a memento (sent as a wedding gift, a la Scott Fitzgerald's famous story, only here it fell flat).
Yes, she married the OM, though she had broken up with him after her night with the H, because the guy had bad health problems from working too hard, which his mom blamed on the h, and the woman actually told the h if he dies, it would be her fault! Already feeling guilty for cheating and breaking up with him, and knowing how fond her father was of him, when he tells her he wants to forget the past and start over she agrees, and they get married!
Talk about DUMB!!! She ended up with an alcoholic abuser and I can't help feeling she deserved not the abuse, but the unhappiness for being such an idiot! Had she just confronted the H with what she had (wrongly) discovered, he would have explained everything and then they wouldn't have had five years apart, and she wouldn't have been nearly raped by the OM/ex-husband who had begun stalking her!
To make things worse, when she and the H get together again there's a whole lot of stupidity first, most of it hers, as she keeps denying her feelings, and blaming him when they come to the surface. When she learns of the mistake she made five years ago and apologizes, she does it in such a half bitchy way (due to jealousy of the OW) that you wonder if she's sorry at all.
Then she goes into martyr mode, as she lets the OW (pretty much thrown into the story just to get the jealousy trope going) convince her that the H is still in love with his late wife, and the former independent (though somewhat bitchy) boss girl turns into little Mary Sue, and runs after him, declaring she wants to marry him, thinking to herself she'll settle for what he has to give and won't expect love.
Then, she gets into another mess when (yet again) she misunderstands something! UNBELIEVABLE!
They were both dumb, since she marries him thinking his heart will always be with his late wife and he marries her thinking she wants protection from her bat crap ex. Mr. and Mrs. Nincompoop!
What's even sillier, is the book starting out from the POV of a character that you think will be the OM in the story and play a major role in it, when in reality he just has a few scenes. He would have been a much better choice for the OM than that crazy guy.
But the worst part is, when she found out he lost his son, she supposedly felt terrible about that, but gets so wrapped up in her feelings about taking a back seat to his late wife that she forgets all about that. As for the H, he dismisses the past as being over and done with, a pretty callous way to think about the loss of a child! It's one thing to forget a spouse and marry again (many people do) but forget your child????? Ask anyone who's gone through that kind of pain if they forget and put it in the past and they'll tell you "NO!!!!!" You live with it, but it always hurts. This guy acted like his neighborhood restaurant closed or a TV show he liked got cancelled. Oh well, life goes on!
This book could have been a more serious one about an abusive marriage if it had been written differently. How about the H and h meeting while he's still grieving his wife and doesn't want to move on, so she gives up and marries the OM, then later she meets the H again when she'd divorced but is afraid to get involved because of her abusive marriage? Now, that would have been a heck of a lot better than this!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2024
- ‘At times you remind me of a wolf on the prowl.’
- ‘So tame me.’
The H is passionate and determined and he is open and honest about his feelings for her. He isn’t a soft beta H, but more like a vintage Charlotte Lamb kind of H. Fire and fury. He made my toes curl.
This is an oldie from 1990. What I didn’t like was that she married someone else after they spent the night together. And I didn’t like her secretive, lying character. I wonder how anyone can stay in love with someone who lies so much to you, but he did.
- ‘So tame me.’
The H is passionate and determined and he is open and honest about his feelings for her. He isn’t a soft beta H, but more like a vintage Charlotte Lamb kind of H. Fire and fury. He made my toes curl.
This is an oldie from 1990. What I didn’t like was that she married someone else after they spent the night together. And I didn’t like her secretive, lying character. I wonder how anyone can stay in love with someone who lies so much to you, but he did.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews