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Ties of Passion #2
Francesca
Poor little rich girl....
Francesca Brodey had the best of everything: beauty, clothes, even men! But, however much she had, it didn't alter how empty she felt inside. She wanted a man who could love her for what she was, not what she possessed.
Sam Gallagher was definitely not what Francesca had in mind .... He was rugged blunt and utterly impossible! It wasn't the most promising of situations. But Francesca knew she wanted Sam--and hadn't she always got what she wanted? Although this time it till-fled out to be much more than she'd bargained for!
Part 2 of Sally Wentworth's three-part series: Ties of Passion. Money, looks, style--the Brodey family have everything ...except love.
Francesca Brodey had the best of everything: beauty, clothes, even men! But, however much she had, it didn't alter how empty she felt inside. She wanted a man who could love her for what she was, not what she possessed.
Sam Gallagher was definitely not what Francesca had in mind .... He was rugged blunt and utterly impossible! It wasn't the most promising of situations. But Francesca knew she wanted Sam--and hadn't she always got what she wanted? Although this time it till-fled out to be much more than she'd bargained for!
Part 2 of Sally Wentworth's three-part series: Ties of Passion. Money, looks, style--the Brodey family have everything ...except love.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Sally Wentworth
108 books95 followersDoreen was born on 1936 or 1937 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK. She married Donald Alfred Hornsblow, with whom she has a son Keith, in 1968. The family lived in Braughing, England.
Doreen began her publishing career at a Fleet Street newspaper in London, where she thrived in the hectic atmosphere. She started writing after attending an evening class and sold her first novel to Mills & Boon in 1977, she published her novels under the pseudonym Sally Wentworth. Her novels were principally set in Great Britain or in exotic places like Canary Islands or Greece. Her first works are stand-alone novels, but in 1990s, she decided to create her first series. In 1991, she wrote a book in two parts about the Barclay twins and their great love, and in 1995, she wrote the Ties of Passion Trilogy about the Brodey family, that have money, looks, style, everything... except love.
Doreen was an accounts clerk at Associated Newspapers Ltd. in London, England, and accounts clerk at Consumers' Association in Hertford, England. In 1985, she was the founding chair of the Hertford Association of National Trust Members, and named its life president. She also collected knife rests and she was member of The Knife Rest Collectors Club.
Doreen Hornsblow died from cancer on 30 August 2001, at 64 years of age.
Doreen began her publishing career at a Fleet Street newspaper in London, where she thrived in the hectic atmosphere. She started writing after attending an evening class and sold her first novel to Mills & Boon in 1977, she published her novels under the pseudonym Sally Wentworth. Her novels were principally set in Great Britain or in exotic places like Canary Islands or Greece. Her first works are stand-alone novels, but in 1990s, she decided to create her first series. In 1991, she wrote a book in two parts about the Barclay twins and their great love, and in 1995, she wrote the Ties of Passion Trilogy about the Brodey family, that have money, looks, style, everything... except love.
Doreen was an accounts clerk at Associated Newspapers Ltd. in London, England, and accounts clerk at Consumers' Association in Hertford, England. In 1985, she was the founding chair of the Hertford Association of National Trust Members, and named its life president. She also collected knife rests and she was member of The Knife Rest Collectors Club.
Doreen Hornsblow died from cancer on 30 August 2001, at 64 years of age.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 20, 2018
Re Francesca - Sally Wentworth's second book in her Ties of Passion miniseries has one of the most useless, vain, snotty, narcissistic, snobish bitches in HPlandia for an h.
And I do not use the term 'Bitch' lightly. This woman more than earns it, in all the nasty connotations that name has, and the way this book is written makes me wonder if SW even liked her own heroine.
The h is the female cousin that was so adamant about hating the h of the first book, Chris for being a trampy prostitute. The majority of this book is the h plotting to destroy the credibility of the h of the first book by setting her up to be denounced in front of the male cousins. Ostensibly because she loves her cousins most in all the world and cannot BEAR to see them taken advantage of.
Literally five chapters are devoted to this h plotting the downfall of the first book's h. This h is snobbish, rude and condescending to EVERYONE around her. She also continually whines about how she is so beautiful and rich that all men seem to want her for is her money and her body.
Which is probably true, she has all the personality of a particularly nasty cesspool dwelling fungus - so she needed those looks and that money to even make being around her marginally tolerable, I am sure.
It is clear from the beginning that the h from the first book isn't really that bad of a person, even the H in this book recognizes that the pretty and mostly nice h from the first book is probably in trouble and needs some help.
But the fungus h is convinced that the prior h is taking all the attention off the true Princess of the family - which is of course herself-so we get pages and page and PAGES of her jealous rants about the prior h, disguised as concern for her cousins, who are no longer focusing all their attention on her Princess self.
We also get the H being used and manipulated and played and teased and condescended to by the h. Even when it becomes pretty clear that the H isn't the poor cowboy the h assumes he is, the h is too caught up in her jealousy that her cousins might be happy with women of their own to even really consider the H, except as a casual roll in the hay cause he turns her libido on.
To his credit, the H calls the h out on her entirely disgusting behavior more than once. But srsly if you read the first book, you can skip the first two thirds of this one, it is the same scenes but seen through the lividly jealous eyes of this h.
(There is also a vague reference to how cruel the h's first husband was and that he was a pervert, but we never get any details and I am pretty sure the cruelty was that her first husband probably refused to let her keep her weekly manicure appointment cause his mother was ill or refused to let her go shopping when they were having dinner guests. The pervert part was probably him asking her not lay there like she is bored and show some enthusiasm for having married him.)
Either way the h only married the Prince because she wanted a title and had lost her big college love, (the one that the older cousin and hero of the third book paid off,) and the Prince did not like being used for his title, so the divorce was messy and in all the scandal rags.
(SW goes out of her way to point out that a titled member of the family was the only thing these people did not have - the h makes sure everyone knows to call her Princess.)
So, because even SW can't fill 185 pages with jealous rants and shopping and condescending to peons like the event planner who will be the h in the third book, the h is given a job by the Head of the Family cousin.
Since the h is useless and has no skills, she is going to organize the anniversary celebrations for the family conglomerate in their various locales. The H is present for two of them and at the first celebration he proposes to the h after a roofie kissing session and she tells him he isn't good enough for her, but he is good for a quick fling.
The H leaves and after she tries to incite her cousins to beat him up and fails, the h moves on to Madeira, where the H and h Illusions of Love live and we get to watch her be jealous and cranky about that H and h being happy and pregnant.
We also get a surprise appearance of the H, who has bought a winery and been invited as he is apparently doing big business deals with the h's family.
We get a big passionate fling in the family vineyard's mountainside spring where the big Lurve Club Purple Passion event between the two of them finally takes place, after the h decides she needs to seduce him to get him out of her head.
The H proposes again and asks her to go with him to America and see how he lives, but the h assumes that when he talks about a log cabin and a ranch on Wyoming, the H is a poor peasant and once again dumps him.
Strangely enough, the Head of the Family cousin doesn't discourage the H from pursuing this h, which is even more startling when this h learns that the Head of the Family cousin paid her big college love off cause he was just out to use her for her money and connections.
The h then goes to New York and is sure that her H will call, but instead we get the big restaurant confrontation with the h from the first book and more jealous rants about the prior h ruing this h's life. The h also goes to seekritly spy on the big former love from her past and finds out that he really was a gigolo when she sees him schmoozing up wealthy women.
So now the h wants to be with the H who lives in Wyoming. She calls him up, he sends a private plane and then he takes her out on the range and the h decides that she needs to have sex with him to keep him interested in her. So she seduces him, again and he besottedly proposes, again.
But by now the h has learned that this H is even richer than her family, cause his family is Western Oil Billionaire tycoons and own a lot of other things besides, so she agrees to marry him and supposedly has changed her ways. We are supposed to believe that because she would rather go to bed with the H than go shopping, for the big HEA.
All I can say is what was the thinking behind this book? The h is never shown to be any thing other than a narcissist who can't look beyond her image in the mirror. We are told she has changed in two lines at the end, but we are never shown any change in her behavior.
There is no romance here and this woman was disgusting. Even the stereotypical evil HP OW is a saint in comparison to her. The only reason the h is even looking at the H is that he is uber rich and can get her off and he is the only one who seems to have time to pay attention to her.
The limited appearances of the H are very cardboard-cut-out too, but he at least seems to be a nice person. Hopefully the H will figure out that it is his lust talking instead of his brain, then he can dump this girl before he actually succumbs to the pit of everlasting torment that will surely be waiting for him if he marries this utter waste of a supposed HP h.
And I do not use the term 'Bitch' lightly. This woman more than earns it, in all the nasty connotations that name has, and the way this book is written makes me wonder if SW even liked her own heroine.
The h is the female cousin that was so adamant about hating the h of the first book, Chris for being a trampy prostitute. The majority of this book is the h plotting to destroy the credibility of the h of the first book by setting her up to be denounced in front of the male cousins. Ostensibly because she loves her cousins most in all the world and cannot BEAR to see them taken advantage of.
Literally five chapters are devoted to this h plotting the downfall of the first book's h. This h is snobbish, rude and condescending to EVERYONE around her. She also continually whines about how she is so beautiful and rich that all men seem to want her for is her money and her body.
Which is probably true, she has all the personality of a particularly nasty cesspool dwelling fungus - so she needed those looks and that money to even make being around her marginally tolerable, I am sure.
It is clear from the beginning that the h from the first book isn't really that bad of a person, even the H in this book recognizes that the pretty and mostly nice h from the first book is probably in trouble and needs some help.
But the fungus h is convinced that the prior h is taking all the attention off the true Princess of the family - which is of course herself-so we get pages and page and PAGES of her jealous rants about the prior h, disguised as concern for her cousins, who are no longer focusing all their attention on her Princess self.
We also get the H being used and manipulated and played and teased and condescended to by the h. Even when it becomes pretty clear that the H isn't the poor cowboy the h assumes he is, the h is too caught up in her jealousy that her cousins might be happy with women of their own to even really consider the H, except as a casual roll in the hay cause he turns her libido on.
To his credit, the H calls the h out on her entirely disgusting behavior more than once. But srsly if you read the first book, you can skip the first two thirds of this one, it is the same scenes but seen through the lividly jealous eyes of this h.
(There is also a vague reference to how cruel the h's first husband was and that he was a pervert, but we never get any details and I am pretty sure the cruelty was that her first husband probably refused to let her keep her weekly manicure appointment cause his mother was ill or refused to let her go shopping when they were having dinner guests. The pervert part was probably him asking her not lay there like she is bored and show some enthusiasm for having married him.)
Either way the h only married the Prince because she wanted a title and had lost her big college love, (the one that the older cousin and hero of the third book paid off,) and the Prince did not like being used for his title, so the divorce was messy and in all the scandal rags.
(SW goes out of her way to point out that a titled member of the family was the only thing these people did not have - the h makes sure everyone knows to call her Princess.)
So, because even SW can't fill 185 pages with jealous rants and shopping and condescending to peons like the event planner who will be the h in the third book, the h is given a job by the Head of the Family cousin.
Since the h is useless and has no skills, she is going to organize the anniversary celebrations for the family conglomerate in their various locales. The H is present for two of them and at the first celebration he proposes to the h after a roofie kissing session and she tells him he isn't good enough for her, but he is good for a quick fling.
The H leaves and after she tries to incite her cousins to beat him up and fails, the h moves on to Madeira, where the H and h Illusions of Love live and we get to watch her be jealous and cranky about that H and h being happy and pregnant.
We also get a surprise appearance of the H, who has bought a winery and been invited as he is apparently doing big business deals with the h's family.
We get a big passionate fling in the family vineyard's mountainside spring where the big Lurve Club Purple Passion event between the two of them finally takes place, after the h decides she needs to seduce him to get him out of her head.
The H proposes again and asks her to go with him to America and see how he lives, but the h assumes that when he talks about a log cabin and a ranch on Wyoming, the H is a poor peasant and once again dumps him.
Strangely enough, the Head of the Family cousin doesn't discourage the H from pursuing this h, which is even more startling when this h learns that the Head of the Family cousin paid her big college love off cause he was just out to use her for her money and connections.
The h then goes to New York and is sure that her H will call, but instead we get the big restaurant confrontation with the h from the first book and more jealous rants about the prior h ruing this h's life. The h also goes to seekritly spy on the big former love from her past and finds out that he really was a gigolo when she sees him schmoozing up wealthy women.
So now the h wants to be with the H who lives in Wyoming. She calls him up, he sends a private plane and then he takes her out on the range and the h decides that she needs to have sex with him to keep him interested in her. So she seduces him, again and he besottedly proposes, again.
But by now the h has learned that this H is even richer than her family, cause his family is Western Oil Billionaire tycoons and own a lot of other things besides, so she agrees to marry him and supposedly has changed her ways. We are supposed to believe that because she would rather go to bed with the H than go shopping, for the big HEA.
All I can say is what was the thinking behind this book? The h is never shown to be any thing other than a narcissist who can't look beyond her image in the mirror. We are told she has changed in two lines at the end, but we are never shown any change in her behavior.
There is no romance here and this woman was disgusting. Even the stereotypical evil HP OW is a saint in comparison to her. The only reason the h is even looking at the H is that he is uber rich and can get her off and he is the only one who seems to have time to pay attention to her.
The limited appearances of the H are very cardboard-cut-out too, but he at least seems to be a nice person. Hopefully the H will figure out that it is his lust talking instead of his brain, then he can dump this girl before he actually succumbs to the pit of everlasting torment that will surely be waiting for him if he marries this utter waste of a supposed HP h.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2017
I wasn't really sure what the point of this trilogy was, but I think it was to have three relatives that meet their significant others at the same gala, and have those interactions be a maelstrom with undercurrents from the same events. This idea worked well in theory and only succeeded in the first book. The first book was pretty exceptionally done, and you want to read the second in order to find out the other circumstances behind what's not explained in the first book. But as for standing on its own merits, this book was a fail. You could care less about Francesca, who was a total B and her love affair with Sam Gallagher was less than convincing. In fact, the only thing that stood out was how sudden their mutual declaration of love was after duking it out with each other and how they got it on in a natural springs that fed into where they make their wines. Gross! Well, Sally Wentworth was aiming for grossness and she achieved it in the third book. Maybe it was to represent fertility or something like that, but all I could think was all that bodily nastiness in your very expensive bottle of wine.
June 11, 2023
I read this book because I wanted to see how the author was going to play this romance out. Francesca was a spoilt, bored rich young woman who I never liked or even felt sorry for. She thought Sam was beneath her. she had had her heart broken when she was young and it took her to the end of the book to resolve that. I liked the fact that she was divorced so she wasn't a sweet virgin. But she wasn't likeable and she spent a lot of time interfering in her cousin's love lives, shopping and travelling.
How Sam could possibly fall in love with her at first sight was questionable. You couldn't really feel the attraction between them. I wish these top authors would go back a rewrite their early books because there's potential here.
How Sam could possibly fall in love with her at first sight was questionable. You couldn't really feel the attraction between them. I wish these top authors would go back a rewrite their early books because there's potential here.
March 20, 2022
This was really interesting - surprisingly sexy for an old-school Harlequin, with lots of affairs and passion and smouldering, and Francesca was entertainingly unlikable despite her turmoiled past giving her a reason or three for it. However, it was also suuuuper concerned with her cousin Chris's romance with Tiffany - which has a whole book of its own, I think - to the point where it felt like we were reading only half a novel.
February 15, 2023
B*tchy h, but very sweet H. She spent too much time arguing with other women.
October 19, 2012
Why do I always love the trainwrecks of such novels as these? This was pure entertainment value. Heroine is annoying as hell—a real immature brat of a beauty, a waste of brains. Who'd have thought I'd end up giving the hero all my sympathies?
Oh and this is like one of the first times I've seen a swear word in a fairly old M&B. When did it become the norm to include "bullshit" in a category rom? Just curious.
Oh and this is like one of the first times I've seen a swear word in a fairly old M&B. When did it become the norm to include "bullshit" in a category rom? Just curious.
November 5, 2012
Très bonne histoire même si l'héroine est un peu tête à claque !
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews