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Second Chances: The Courtship Wars
Rushing through the concourse to make her way to the conference stage, Gillian Cornell comes face-to-face with the one man she finds most contemptible of everyone she knows, and suddenly her world tilts. His gaze tells stories she wants desperately to hear. As he undresses her with his eyes, Gillian finds all she can do is stumble through her opening remarks. The all-too-attractive cad challenges both her sensibility and her reputation as a competent sexologist.
Dr. Lucian Damron never allows any woman to capture his interest for long. He uses them to boost his career and for his own pleasures. Yet, Lucian cannot resist Gillian’s stubborn independence, her startling intelligence, and her surprising sensuality. Sinfully handsome, Lucian hides a badly wounded heart and a life of personal rejection.
Thrown together as the medical staff on Second Chances, a new reality show designed to reunite previously married couples, Lucian and Gillian soon pique the interest of the American viewing public, who tune in each week, fascinated by the passionate electricity between them. Thus begins an all-consuming courtship, plagued by potentially relationship-ending secrets and misunderstandings and played out scandalously on a national stage.
Dr. Lucian Damron never allows any woman to capture his interest for long. He uses them to boost his career and for his own pleasures. Yet, Lucian cannot resist Gillian’s stubborn independence, her startling intelligence, and her surprising sensuality. Sinfully handsome, Lucian hides a badly wounded heart and a life of personal rejection.
Thrown together as the medical staff on Second Chances, a new reality show designed to reunite previously married couples, Lucian and Gillian soon pique the interest of the American viewing public, who tune in each week, fascinated by the passionate electricity between them. Thus begins an all-consuming courtship, plagued by potentially relationship-ending secrets and misunderstandings and played out scandalously on a national stage.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2008
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24 people want to read
About the author
Regina Jeffers
136 books705 followersRegina Jeffers, an award-winning author of historical cozy mysteries, Austenesque sequels and retellings, as well as Regency era romances, has worn many hats over her lifetime: daughter, student, military brat, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, tax preparer, journalist, choreographer, Broadway dancer, theatre director, history buff, grant writer, media literacy consultant, and author. Living outside of Charlotte, NC, Jeffers writes novels that take the ordinary and adds a bit of mayhem, while mastering tension in her own life with a bit of gardening and the exuberance of her “grand joys.”
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2016
A hot romance ignites soon after as they set eyes on each other but sex therapist, Gillian Cornell, and psychologist, Lucian Damron, face several challenges when events and an ex-lover, intervene. Then when their second chance seems full steam ahead a secret from the past comes to light and his life is down the drain. Is he a fraud or should she trust the man she now knows she loves against all odds?
They each have their views and opinions on how to address relationship problems and when they each secure a contract to be part of a TV reality show consultation team both question why they must be teamed together. But each has a goal: a book promotion for one and a TV show for the other. And after their whirlwind time together he cannot understand her refusal to even talk to him. She should know better due to the nature of her work, that there are lovers and ex-lovers who can’t be trusted and have their own agenda. Growing up with parents who both fostered and adopted neglected and/or dependent children, she has been witness to the damage which can occur in families much less relationships. She is only trying to guard her heart. He is only trying to knock down barriers as she might be the exception to the rule in the women he has known. His life and his women have been front page news.
A reality show, Second Chances, with cameras galore and obstacle courses, etc. to force the couples seeking “second chances” to work together, demands that the medical staff also participate…so the world sees the sexual chemistry at work and attention is focused as much on the professionals as the various divorced/separated couples. I particularly liked the relationships between the pros and the couples…especially as they move beyond the TV filming. Both Gillian’s and Lucian’s backgrounds come into play but the story keeps us, the TV producers and the participants in the dark about the one's personal history and when it explodes that person cannot talk about it and all feel betrayed. How can you do this thing to me? Do I trust that there is an explanation? But why have you not told me? Trust, respect, communication?
I do have to add a few notes about editing needs. There is one spot where Lucian is called "Cater" and also, dear author, it is Down Syndrome, not Downs Syndrome. (I worked with IDD, Intellectually, Developmentally Disabled, in the Office of Developmental Programs just before retiring.) Then there is the mystery which is never cleared up...Who is Thad? And just where were he and Barbara allowed to be together unsupervised? The IDD people with whom I worked were well supervised in day programs or at home. (I don't like when there are strings hanging.) Then there is that observation, which I know others must make in their minds: where are the condoms? Lucian is a rake – he should be carrying a few in his pocket. And Gillian – you are a sextologist and, even in your innocent state, you must know the dangers of unprotected sexual relations AND know how to get birth control pills. (I know that the story premise needed that but it could have been explained in other ways.) And the last quibble is that in modern times pregnant women give urine samples on each visit to their obstetrician/gynecologist and it is used to test for diabetes, among other things. So for the lady in this novel to almost succumb to that during her pregnancy, I have to wonder about either the care she is receiving or the presentation in the story line. I have not researched that occurrence so maybe it was a sudden and totally unexpected condition/disease which struck her down. But it just struck me as out of line with today's practices.
I did enjoy this story but found it much more enthralling as I reached the half way point. Things began to happen and my attention was now focused to find answers for more than one person.
They each have their views and opinions on how to address relationship problems and when they each secure a contract to be part of a TV reality show consultation team both question why they must be teamed together. But each has a goal: a book promotion for one and a TV show for the other. And after their whirlwind time together he cannot understand her refusal to even talk to him. She should know better due to the nature of her work, that there are lovers and ex-lovers who can’t be trusted and have their own agenda. Growing up with parents who both fostered and adopted neglected and/or dependent children, she has been witness to the damage which can occur in families much less relationships. She is only trying to guard her heart. He is only trying to knock down barriers as she might be the exception to the rule in the women he has known. His life and his women have been front page news.
A reality show, Second Chances, with cameras galore and obstacle courses, etc. to force the couples seeking “second chances” to work together, demands that the medical staff also participate…so the world sees the sexual chemistry at work and attention is focused as much on the professionals as the various divorced/separated couples. I particularly liked the relationships between the pros and the couples…especially as they move beyond the TV filming. Both Gillian’s and Lucian’s backgrounds come into play but the story keeps us, the TV producers and the participants in the dark about the one's personal history and when it explodes that person cannot talk about it and all feel betrayed. How can you do this thing to me? Do I trust that there is an explanation? But why have you not told me? Trust, respect, communication?
I do have to add a few notes about editing needs. There is one spot where Lucian is called "Cater" and also, dear author, it is Down Syndrome, not Downs Syndrome. (I worked with IDD, Intellectually, Developmentally Disabled, in the Office of Developmental Programs just before retiring.) Then there is the mystery which is never cleared up...Who is Thad? And just where were he and Barbara allowed to be together unsupervised? The IDD people with whom I worked were well supervised in day programs or at home. (I don't like when there are strings hanging.) Then there is that observation, which I know others must make in their minds: where are the condoms? Lucian is a rake – he should be carrying a few in his pocket. And Gillian – you are a sextologist and, even in your innocent state, you must know the dangers of unprotected sexual relations AND know how to get birth control pills. (I know that the story premise needed that but it could have been explained in other ways.) And the last quibble is that in modern times pregnant women give urine samples on each visit to their obstetrician/gynecologist and it is used to test for diabetes, among other things. So for the lady in this novel to almost succumb to that during her pregnancy, I have to wonder about either the care she is receiving or the presentation in the story line. I have not researched that occurrence so maybe it was a sudden and totally unexpected condition/disease which struck her down. But it just struck me as out of line with today's practices.
I did enjoy this story but found it much more enthralling as I reached the half way point. Things began to happen and my attention was now focused to find answers for more than one person.
March 13, 2013
This is a modern day romance with a little/lot of reality TV thrown in. The 2 main Characters are Dr Lucien Damron and Gillian Cornell. The book starts out with us seeing that the good Dr is some what of a Cad!! He is at a conference that Ms Cornell is speaking at and he's not very compilmentary to her. Then come to find out they are to be working together at a new reality TV show where divorced couple are trying to restore there relationship. Anyway great dislike and many arguments makes sexual tension great. Plus with all that's going on between these two there's a great secret that Lucien is keeping and it causes all sorts of problems. Problems for the show and the budding relationship between the two. I liked this story and it was an easy fun read and like all Ms Jeffer's books, all will be revealed in the end!
June 30, 2010
There are some problems with the point of view, but I love the story line.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews