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Contemporary Duo #1

Hard Lovin' Man

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Ten years after leaving her former lover Jack Morgan behind, Kelley Spencer returns to her sleepy hometown of Hopeful, Texas, with her orphaned half-sister Madison, in the hopes of protecting the teenager from the trouble in which she had become involved in Dallas, only to discover that Jack is the local police chief. Original.

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

27 people are currently reading
630 people want to read

About the author

Lorraine Heath

92 books4,405 followers
Also writes Young Adult under Rachel Hawthorne, Jade Parker, and with her son as J.A. London.

Lorraine Heath has always had a soft spot for emotional love stories. No doubt because growing up, watching movies with her mom, she was taught that the best movies "won't half make you cry."​​​​​​​

She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her "dual" nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.

When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since.

Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including RWA's RITA®. Her novels have appeared on bestseller lists, including ​​​​​​​USA TODAY and the New York Times.

The author of more than 60 novels, she writes historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers.

Under the names Rachel Hawthorne and Jade Parker, she writes popular contemporary, historical, and paranormal r​​omance for teens readers. She also writes young adult novels with her son under the name J. A. London.

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5 stars
174 (29%)
4 stars
194 (32%)
3 stars
163 (27%)
2 stars
37 (6%)
1 star
24 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for Mo.
1,404 reviews2 followers
March 24, 2018
First contemporary I have read by this author. Enjoyed it. Bit predictable at times.


Profile Image for ♥Sharon♥.
985 reviews139 followers
April 19, 2018

Liked it but didn't love it.

I usually love these storylines so I am not quite sure why it missed the mark for me. Could be that I have a bit of a book hangover.

In the end it was just an okay read for me.


Profile Image for Jess.
602 reviews71 followers
July 17, 2013
This was meh, as a romance and really no smut to speak of ..well a little smut, but barely. Certainly not the kind of smut the title suggests.

I liked the premise, it sounded fun. Kelley returns to a town she left behind after her heart was broken. Now raising her wild teenage sister who is a bit of handful she is surprised when she is called by the police to pick up said sister/troublemaker, but even more surprised when the sheriff turns out to Jack the guy who broke her heart 9 years ago Cute right?

Oh one thing though, nine years ago Kelly was 21 and Jack was 18. Well that’s ok a teensy bit older no biggie right?
Oh and one more thing Kelley was Jack's high school teacher, but its ok because Jack was much more emotionally mature then the rest of the students, he was “all man” very young.

Riiiiight.
 photo judging_zpsef0be0c3.gif


Soooo anyway presently there is still a lot of feelings between these too and whatever, but I keep coming back to the fact that this was not a great premise for a romance novel it has a skeevy bit to it I am not enjoying .
no touchy rule!!made by kuzco:P

But then the author pissed me off with everything else in the book so I got distracted. This may be vanity but I am joining the “30” club soon and this may be why I was pissed about the way Kelley acted and was treated as if she was broaching on her 50’s or something ? The woman is 31 years old and she acted like her life was over and she would just be happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the teenagers have fun. I fucking hate it when teenagers have fun. They can’t go to bars or clubs and buy alcohol so they end up out and loud and pukey at some park, probably the one next to my house, that I am going to want to be at the next day with my kid. Teenagers are the worst.Back to my issues with Kelley, did she want to go out? Nope just stay in her shitty apartment and think about missed opportunities now that there’s nothing really for her to do being so old and all and everyone else was like “yep seems right”. DEPRESSING and INSANE.
Profile Image for cajareads.
337 reviews
dnf
December 9, 2025
DNF @ 52%

Went into this book because of a video I saw on tiktok. Some people don’t see it as him cheating on her, it was worse, it was a betrayal because you don’t go sleeping with someone else right after you declared your love to a woman. Yes I know, she sorta rejected him but he darn well know why. He felt for her deeply. And even he admitted he ruined a chance with her because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped. And there are actually people mad at the fmc for what she told the mmc to do after he found out the ow got pregnant after he slept with her…. And the audacity of the mmc to feel the same when it was him who slept with someone else because, like he said, the fmc wouldn’t put up to it.. and blaming his age for being horny and f*cked someone else when the fmc didn’t want to sleep with him. And considering the situation with them being a teacher and a student, I am on her side 100%.

Anyway I could rant about this on and on but it’s obvious I’m not going to like how this is going to end, I’m just gonna stop here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kristiej.
1,541 reviews100 followers
February 6, 2023
Just finished rereading this book and what I said in the review still holds. I love this book to pieces and would love it if Ms Heath were to ever write another contemporary romance. In my opinion she does perfectly in this sub genre too.

<~> <~> <~> <~>

Have you ever read one of those books that you just know isn’t perfect but it’s perfect for you? This is Hard Lovin’ Man for me. I’ve read it a few times now though not for a number of years and even though I know it has issues for some; I read critiques and can nod along with them thinking good point. However, it doesn’t really matter. I just love the hell out of this book anyway. One can tell as I have in PB but it’s buried somewhere in the 36 boxes of books I have piled up in one of the bedrooms and it would take ages and ages to try and find it as there is no organization to the way they are packed up. But despite this, the urge to read it again has been there for years to the point I broke down and paid the overpriced price they were asking for the e-book.

Jack and Kelley had a forbidden love years previously to the start of this book. She was a 21-year-old rookie teacher and he was her 19-year-old overage student. They never physically took things past the line until he officially graduated high school but they certainly skimmed right up to the edge of the line. But Jack did something Kelley couldn’t get past and their relationship ended and they hadn’t been in touch since. That is until Kelley moves back to their small town with her troubled younger sister she is in charge of since their parents were killed. She is shocked to come face to face with Jack who is now the chief of police once again when he hauls her sister Madison in for underage drinking. And the old feelings for each other come rushing back. It’s nine years later but neither has been able to get over the other.
Jack is all set to start things over now that they are older and more mature but Kelley is very hesitant despite still having deep feelings, as she is very concerned about her sister. While I find Kelley somewhat annoying at times, I still like her and Jack is such an amazing and mouth watering hero. He certainly came from ‘wrong side of the track’ so to speak and he wasn’t really headed anywhere with his life. But Kelley was the catalyst for him to make changes and make something of his life.

I’m being a bit vague but I don’t want to give any spoilers as there are a few secrets along the way. Jack gets a definite 6 out of 5 and Kelley a 4 out of 5 so I’m giving this one a 4.5 this time around. But in my heart it still gets a 5. Though I think this is the most I've ever paid for an ebook, it's well worth the price and now that I have it on my Kindle, when the urge to read it again comes up, and I know it will, it's easily accessible.
Profile Image for Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS).
1,861 reviews328 followers
October 31, 2017
Kelley Spencer was 22 years old and had recently graduated from college when she accepted a teaching position in the small community of Hopeful, Texas. Jack Morgan was nineteen years old and a senior -he had been held back one year- when he considered dropping out of school. He was living in a trashy trailer and his mother had abandoned him. He let his conscious be his guide but he was by no means perfect. When they met in her classroom the first day, an attraction of sorts developed. Kelley knew it was unethical but Jack continually pursued her through the school year.

Hard Lovin' Man was told in flashbacks and nine years later, when they unexpectedly meet again. It was about youthful indiscretions, immature choices and letting go. They succumbed to the temptation the day he graduated. Both were adults but guilty secrets couldn’t keep them together.

Lorraine Heath challenged herself when she wrote this romance. Like other readers, I had a difficult time getting past the issue of teacher/student even though they were, agewise, adults. When they met almost a decade later, Jack was a police chief, single parent and homeowner. Kelley was guardian of her sixteen year old half-sister and had moved back, hoping for some stability. She was unaware that Jack was living there until they met again.

The style of writing reminded me of Linda Howard’s older contemporary romances. Alpha male, intense chemistry and some suspension of disbelief. I am giving the story three stars.
Profile Image for Ruth.
594 reviews72 followers
July 15, 2010
I enjoyed this one. It started out a bit unpromising for me, to be honest, since I thought it was going to be a creepy older teacher-younger student type romance, but, boy, did this story pull me in. So much better than I thought it was going to be. The story was great, a lot of love, an awful lot of heartache and written in a non-cheesy way. Really liked it.
Profile Image for Lover of Romance.
3,768 reviews1,131 followers
March 2, 2023
Hard Lovin' Man is the 1st book in the Contemporary Duo series by this author. I have had this one so long on my TBR. As I was looking through the backlist of Lorraine Heath, I realized that I haven't read this author's contemporaries. I have become highly intrigued by this one here. I will say that this one was a very typical older contemporary. Nothing significant on this one popped out to me, but it was still a definitely solid read and I am excited to read the companion novel to it! I do think Heath's best talent is in her historical context, but you definitely feel her voice within this story.

I found Hard Lovin' Man to be an endearing romance and if you love a good small town romance, then you definitely need to pick this one up. Now it definitely has a secret involved but thank goodness it wasn't abortion or secret baby or not secret baby that you would expect. I do think that Lorraine Heath took a unique take on this. I really enjoyed seeing these two come back together as they do. And I do like the kids aspects of this story as we have a mix of a young child with a teenager and the dynamic was pretty good.

I do think that this one just had the a typical conflict that you normally expect in these older contemporaries, but I was fine with it as Lorraine Heath always delivers. But I wouldn't say this is her best work either. But it was a great delivery and had a fun time with these characters.
Profile Image for Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ.
1,039 reviews950 followers
March 19, 2018
Loved it. One sitting read. Cried a couple times too. A Lorraine Heath’s contemporary just as good as her historicals.
(Lovers of the single dad’s trope... Must Read!)
Profile Image for *The Angry Reader*.
1,544 reviews344 followers
April 15, 2018
The quintessential 3 star read. Entertaining but never pulled me out of my head. The language, characters and plot line made sure that I never went beyond the surface. However, I don't begrudge the book that. I can enjoy myself without having my soul trampled - this was a perfect example of that phenomenon.

Kelley - returns to the small town she once taught with her troubled younger sister in tow. It turns out the student upon whom she crushed is now the chief of police. Jack and Kelley have a lot of secrets and built up resentment. There are a couple of adorably soap-opera-worthy moments that had me snickering when I was supposed to be sad. But I'm kind of a dick - so that doesn't mean much.

If you love the old school and want something incredibly readable that isn't going to hurt you I can't recommend this book enough.

Profile Image for shms.
1,426 reviews
December 15, 2019
This my 2nd attempt at reading this book was more successful. The other was a 1 star rated dnf, from earlier this year. I gave up around the 30% mark then due to intolerance of the h. This time I had more patience with the way the story line unfolded and the last 25% was were the action was all at. It picked up the tempo at that point but too much was crammed into too little time. The h was still my least favourite character but I began to have a sympathetic view of why she was the way she was.
20 reviews
January 14, 2016
This book really annoyed me. I barely finished it and even that was just so I can say I finished it and not really because I cared. There was just so much that was happening in the book and a lot of it was just so melodramatic and over the top. Even taking just one of the issues and focusing on that would have been enough but it seemed like the author just decided to throw in more issues to prolong the story (?).

Profile Image for Jacqueline J.
3,566 reviews369 followers
March 5, 2022
Really loved this one. It was full of angst and romantic love. The characters seemed real and their relationship was very solid and sweet. I loved how he loved her even when they were apart and lived his life asking himself if she would approve of the choices he was making. She was a character who was a bit harder to get behind until you understood all the past trauma she was dealing with. Good secondary characters. The writing and plotting were very well done. I was totally immersed in the story and I believe this is one that I will want to reread.
Profile Image for Diana Szaiak.
338 reviews16 followers
February 14, 2024

Kelley revine după nouă ani în micul orășel în care a crescut pentru a o salva pe Madison din ghearele anturajului.
Jack rebelul este acum șeful poliției și ultimul om pe care ea și-ar fi dorit să-l vadă în noaptea în care a mers să-și scoată sora din belele.
Povestea de iubire cărora i-au pus cruce cu aproape un deceniu în urmă se dovedește a nu fi tocmai îngropată și amintirile îi dau pe amândoi peste cap. Cum se vor rostogoli și unde vor ateriza nu cred că-i greu de ghicit.
Dragoste-ură sau mai potrivit dezamăgire, inimi frânte, ea profesoară, copii la vârsta adolescenței, decizii nu tocmai potrivite care le aduc numai durere. Nimic nou sub soare.
Ce-a fost fain aici este Jack, numa bun de luat acasă. De la puștiul pierdut care se ascunde în spatele bravadelor până la bărbatul ce reușește să lipească inima lui Madison, este numai bucățică delicioasă. Tare iubibil poate fi!
Simpatică și micuța infractoare, n-ai cum să n-o îndrăgești dar cu blocata de Keley n-am reușit să mă-nțeleg. Oricum o dădea, ea-i arunca trecutu-n față și întorcea spatele. Cunosc astfel de persoane ce bat monedă pe ce-a fost și chiar de le-ar lovi norocul peste ochi tot n-ar percuta. Demne de milă, ce să zic. Minune mare că și-a revenit disperata noastră.
Profile Image for Maxxxine.
164 reviews5 followers
December 8, 2025
Love it! Love it! Love it! When i read romance book i never expected a twist. It’s so emotional. The title is the whole plot. MMC Pursued her, never back down never give up 😂 but one thing i like about this book is there’s no perfect character. You can’t love them completely but you can’t hate them too. MMC, FMC, madison, everyone has their own flaws but somehow i feel sympathetic towards them.

A little warning: there’s a betrayal from MMC. I’m not sure it’s cheating or not because they’re not in a relationship at that point. I hope we can see more about his regrets.
57 reviews
January 15, 2024
I’d give it a 2.5, but refuse to round-up. This would have been a DNF except that another friend is also going to read it.





[Spoilers]

The entire premise -second chance between a teacher and a former student - is creepy as hell. Then toss in secret baby storylines? Yuckville. This could have been a better book without either of these elements.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
975 reviews5 followers
October 22, 2018
Exceptional book so much going on couldn’t put it down from the first page to the last Kelley and jack have an exceptional love through years heartache and healing would highly recommend as you won’t be disappointed 👍👍👍👍
95 reviews
December 5, 2020
A fun quick read

Lorraine Heath has the gift of taking a story, weaving twists and crazy turns wrapped with humor, sweetness and sensuality and making you feel there is hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Profile Image for Alison.
1,888 reviews17 followers
July 25, 2024
This story was heart-breaking and a bit uncomfortable at times.

I liked the conclusion and the journey the heroine and hero made back to one another even though there were so many hard situations that came to light once they reunited.
Profile Image for Kazia.
304 reviews12 followers
August 7, 2017
I was reminded of Paul Anka's song "Diana."

The story was... interesting. Didn't enjoy it that much, mostly because I was saddened by all these decisions and circumstances. Eh.
Profile Image for Sandra R.
3,380 reviews47 followers
September 19, 2017
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. It was a lovely way to spend a day and beautifully written.
Profile Image for Catarina .
241 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2018
pretty amazing... i never saw that twist coming tho ...
Profile Image for Sara.
132 reviews
June 16, 2020
Good story and good writing. The frequent walking out scenes were infantile but good plot overall
3,988 reviews21 followers
June 4, 2019
OK, I had a problem with the back-story of this book: a first-year high school English teacher fell in love with a senior male student. (I figure today's teachers have enough problems without the newspapers and books discussing illicit love between student and teacher.) Call me old-fashioned, but as a teacher, I was never interested in one of my students! It seems immoral.

Kelley and Jack have one night of passion - after he graduates - and then things change. Jack leaves and marries someone he's supposed to have gotten pregnant. Kelley can't handle the heartache and moves back to her hometown Dallas.

Coming forward 9 years, teacher Kelley has moved back to the small town with her sister. Jack is still hot but he is now police chief of that small town. Jack is divorced, with custody of his son. Kelley is still unmarried.

Kelley and Jack meet again because Madison (the 16-year-old sister) has been caught drinking in a bar without being the legal age to do so. Kelley is the guardian of her sister since the death of their parents. Madison was going down the wrong path in Dallas, so Kelley brought Madison to the small town, so she could keep better tabs on her sister's actions. Madison is seriously acting-out!

From this point on, the story was fascinating and very well-done. I want to find Jack because he is the wisest cop in the state of Texas!

During those 9 years, Mr. (Hot) Jack has morphed into an amazing father. Kelley, however, is lost with her problems with out-of-control Madison. Jack tries to help Kelley.

The dialogue was true-to-life and on-target.

What I'm trying to say is that I didn't hold out much hope for this contemporary novel but was pleasantly surprised! Jack showed amazing insight into human behavior and shared much with the readers. I enjoyed the book!
Profile Image for Leyns.
3,059 reviews
February 28, 2017
Second chance romance.

It was a decent read. If you like second chance romance, you'll probably like this. It was a little predictable at times but overall a sweet read.
Profile Image for Katie's Book Haven.
700 reviews1 follower
April 12, 2025
I hate the tropes this novel contained...
I don't like second chance and immensely dislike reverse age gap, but somehow, Lorraine Heath managed to completely change my opinion on both those tropes.
I fell head over heels in love with every character in this story! 4.75 Stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews

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