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Marriage Meltdown
The seven-year itch!
On the outside Gina Tyson seemed to have the perfect marriage - but inside she ached with frustration at the distance Reid had placed between them.
So, Gina decided to challenge her husband - and was shocked rigid by what she heard. She had to do something to show him just how much she really desired him - had always desired him. But she'd have to act fast if she didn't want to lose him to another woman!
On the outside Gina Tyson seemed to have the perfect marriage - but inside she ached with frustration at the distance Reid had placed between them.
So, Gina decided to challenge her husband - and was shocked rigid by what she heard. She had to do something to show him just how much she really desired him - had always desired him. But she'd have to act fast if she didn't want to lose him to another woman!
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
103 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
Emma Darcy
640 books327 followersEmma Darcy is the pseudonym created by the married writing team of Wendy (1940-2020) and Frank Brennan (1936-1995). Their life journey has taken as many twists and turns as the characters in their stories, whose international popularity has resulted in over sixty-million book sales. With more than a hundred titles, Emma Darcy appeared regularly on the Waldenbooks bestseller lists in the U.S.A. and in the Nielson BookScan Top 100 chart in the U.K.
Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.
As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.
Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.
Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.
As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.
Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.
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December 22, 2018
Re Marriage Meltdown - Brace yourself HP Voyagers, we are going again to the Trainwrecky Dark Side of HPlandia, in a full blown examination of the Darker Side of a May-December HPlandia HEA.
This one is about marital infidelity, so jump off now if you aren't up for the ride.
We start with 28 yr old Gina, nice Italian Catholic girl and mother of three after six years of marriage. Gina is married to Reid, a 39 yr old smug, patriarchal Captain of Industry. It is Gina's one and only marriage and Reid's second.
The book starts with Gina contemplating Reid over the dinner table, while he ignores her diligent efforts to make him a nice home life, and realizing that if this how an HEA is supposed to work out, she isn't down for it.
Gina is lonely, Reid seems to firmly categorize her as a mother and housekeeper and the fizzles that she felt when she first met him have just gone by the wayside. Gina decides something needs to change.
So when she questions Reid about an upcoming business trip where he will be staying in a suite apartment hotel setup with his beautiful assistant, instead of his usual London hotel, alarm bells start clanging.
Especially when Reid mockingly insists that nothing is going to change for Gina, her cozy, well-heeled set up is guaranteed for life, as Gina is the mother of his children. Gina is hurt by this accusation, she didn't get married for some 'cozy set up and cushy life', she married Reid because she fell head over heels in love with a handsome prince.
But as the years pass, the handsome prince withdraws into a total toad and Gina feels smacked in the face with a fish when Reid very crudely indicates that she is a total zero in bed. Reid is resentful that he feels he does all the work and Gina barely responds to any of it.
Gina is confused. Her background was an Old Skool Italian Catholic Mum and an education by nuns. As with most backgrounds of this type, sex and sexuality was NEVER discussed and in a misguided attempt to keep girls safe, Gina was taught that men chased, women were demure and shyly hinted yes or no. Gina was also taught that unless you were in a lawful marital relationship, it had better ALWAYS be NO and even then you shouldn't be too enthusiastic.
So Gina has no clue as to how to help Reid find more fulfillment. This is the 90's and there is always Masters and Johnson, but Gina was taught from a young age that 'nice girls and good wives and mothers don't sully themselves with that sort of thing.'
Plus Gina has been preggers for most of the six years of the marriage, so her body image hasn't been the best, as it seemed to her she was constantly distended by pregnancy and so much of what is considered attractive femininity is rail thin model types with cheekbones to die for.
Not that Gina is unattractive, she is actually beautiful. But again her upbringing and even Reid's mother, are all of the school that a true lady doesn't flaunt her assets. Reid agrees with this to a certain extent, he married a mum this time around, not a high flyer piece of arm candy.
But Reid believes the downside to natural mum's seems to be that they have no excitement to bring to the lurve club event required for a stork visit. Or if they do manage to fake some passion, it is probably to manipulate a guy who is quite happy to take his needs to a leggy blonde with some spark, who won't interfere with his home life.
Gina puts 28 yrs of inhibitions and body issues aside and takes a chance on seducing Reid in the shower. Reid is actually angered by the attempt and Gina's insistence that there needs to be a change in their relationship leads to very angry, but passionate boudoir moments.
Gina finds the entire night with its heated events a complete revelation, she had no clue as to what she had been missing. Tho she is a bit disheartened over her son's childish repeating that Daddy said, in a very cranky manner, about Gina's mental state 'Sick and sore and sorry for herself, most likely. But not to worry, Patrick. Your mother will be back to her normal self in no time flat.'
Gina rightly surmises that Reid's cynicism about her manipulating him hasn't been abated by the big Passion Mojo moment, even tho Gina is entirely sincere on her part. So Gina sends Reid a basket of roses, much like he did in the early days of their marriage to thank her from some thoughtful thing or upon the birth of their daughter, thanking him for the night of her life.
There is a lovely scene where Reid is getting the flowers and the delivery lady is making a big deal about a guy getting roses. Reid's potential affair partner, his assistant Paige, is glaring daggers and then Gina shows up.
She thought she might take Reid to lunch and then to a hotel for some afternoon deelites. Reid comes across as an utter nematode slime swiller as he once again degenerate's Gina's sexuality and her new found passion for the bedroom. He goes a bit too far when tells her she doesn't have to tart herself out to keep her lifestyle and Gina is very hurt.
That hurt turns to fury when Gina finds out that it is Reid's assistant that is going on the all-so-important lunch date with Reid. Reid explains that it is his assistant's birthday and that he made plans to take her out a long time ago.
(Reid conveniently fails to mention that he had been planning to put the initial seduction moves to start an affair with the woman into play over lunch, but Gina's next moves pretty much push his lecherous intent to the back of his mind.)
Gina has a major shout down about Reid putting his assistant before his wife and pretty much tells him if he goes the infidelity route his hiney will be getting a big surprise. Gina shouts that she has been sweet and accommodating and trying hard to make their marriage work, but if Reid can't do better than this, well she wants more in her life than that and she will work to get it.
Then she asks for the business card of Reid's travel agent, since Reid told her to make her own plans if she wants to go to Europe, Gina intends to do just that. Reid gets a phone call later that afternoon and Gina has indeed booked herself onto Reid's trip, including sharing the suspicious hotel suite.
Reid once again threatens Gina that she better not mess up his business trip. Gina is terrified, this is a huge risk for a woman who is basically an introvert, but she is determined to save her marriage if she can.
Gina gets to the airport and she isn't wearing a bra, because Reid was all about liking the jiggle when an unfettered woman walks around. Heads are turning right and left, cause an unbound Gina really makes an impact.
The assistant, Paige, and Reid are waiting at the gate. There is a big kerfuffle as Paige tries to make Gina seem like an imposition taking up Reid's business time when Paige offers to switch seats. Gina feels belittled, cause she earnestly promised Reid she would NOT interfere with the serious business he was going to conduct. (Little knowing that his 'serious' business was monkey business.)
Gina firmly declines to sit next to Reid and is perfectly happy with the caviar and vodka and her seating companion offered on the flight. Reid starts to get the hint that he is an utter idiot and he also starts to miss just how much fun Gina is to be with. He regrets that he made such a big deal about business, cause now he wants to sit with Gina.
Things take a definitive dive when we get to London and the suite hotel. Paige swans around naked under a towel robe while in full battle makeup and after some verbal sparing with the woman, Gina realizes that Reid is probably already involved in an affair with her.
Even if Reid isn't shagging her silly every chance he gets, he and Paige were certainly planning on it based on the suite setup and Gina knows that she isn't going to live like that.
Gina finally uses that spine of steel she has been growing for the last nine chapters. She looks at Reid and sees a lying toad snot snarfer, who has the extremely bad taste to put his mistress and his wife under the same roof and she wants no part of it.
She waits until a distinctly disturbed Reid and Paige are gone for the day and she gets herself into another hotel. She leaves Reid a note explaining that she is done and not to be bothered and Reid is pretty much beside himself.
The situation when he left Gina alone in the suite hotel bothers him greatly, Gina is avoiding him like he is some loathsome piece of slime that will contaminate her and when he asks Paige about it, her very sly insinuations set off his inner alarm bells.
Reid leaves a note of his own with a basket of roses for Gina, he tells her he loves her and wants to talk, but Gina is walking out the door of the hotel while the roses are being carried in and she never gets them.
We get a little time jump here. Gina has been having a great time touring London for the past five days, while firmly rebuffing any attempts by Reid to contact her. Gina is done, she has agreed to meet Reid at Rules, the oldest Restaurant in London in Convent Garden on Maiden Lane, and Gina intends this dinner to be a discussion about separation and divorce.
Reid is there being anxious, he really starts to wonder if Gina is going to show up and when she does, he is even more scared. Gina is all about how SHE was working towards making a better marriage and HE was all about screwing around.
Gina hammers it home that she accommodates and tries to please him because that is her idear of a loving marriage and he just doesn't give a damn about what she needs or wants. He put her in a box and told her to like it and when she tries to break out, she finds out he had the audacity to book her into the same suite as his tart.
Reid is very quick to reassure Gina that Paige is history, it seems she has a long past of seducing and then blackmailing employers and he paid her off and locked her out and sent her on her way the same day that Gina left him.
Gina is not about to be cozened by that line of mushroom fertilizer, Paige may have been predatory and out to create some drama, but Reid is the one who went there and it was his decision to cheat.
Reid is pretty convincing in his assertions that he never slept with Paige and to be fair, ED does give us a lot of his POV and we see him thinking about it, but there are NO scenes where he and Paige interact in that way.
Then Gina asks about Reid's first wife, because it seems that Reid is making assumptions and blaming her for behaviors that he attributed to his first marriage. Reid doesn't want to talk about it, but Gina doesn't back down. Gina knows she is carrying the baggage for another woman's actions and she wants this resolved if the marriage is going to continue.
Reid explains that his first wife was a manipulative gold digger who wanted the high life and only put out when she could gain something. It all fell apart when Reid finally realized her game and they divorced. Then he met Gina and she was sweet and selling children's books and she looked like a very nice girl who would never dream of using her body to get a new Ferrari.
This revelation leads to Reid's unhappiness in the bedroom, cause he never realized that not using sex as a weapon or as a bribe also meant that he wouldn't be getting any purple passion either. Gina again takes him to task, she reminds him of his age, her background and her upbringing and reminds him that she was all about grooming unicorns when they met.
She also explains about how pregnancy made her feel undesirable and Reid hastens to assure her that pregnancy made her bloom and he was criminal for not telling her that. But Gina isn't done, she has more to say and this time Reid is going to be able to repeat it. In a lovely smackdown for Reid's smug complacency about passion moments, Gina hits the hard notes.
She flat out asks Reid where was she supposed to learn about sex if not from him - he was the older and experienced one. Her mother was very strict about morality and while she liked being intimate, everything she learned in life was to be lady like and restrained - he even reinforced that by his behavior that she was too 'fragile' to hear that he was disappointed in bed.
The light finally dawns in Reid's head that HE is the biggest problem denominator in this situation. His adamant determination to categorize and patronize women has led to his own downfall, tho he blames it all on the OW.
He does apologize very sincerely and Gina wants her marriage to work enough that she will allow Reid to believe that she believes it really was both the OW's fault that Reid is a snot snarfing complacent patriarchal nematode.
Gina and Reid have a grand and glorious passionate reunion and Reid is now determined to always treat Gina as the Queen of His Heart. Gina is satisfied that Reid is well aware of what he will lose if he continues to withdraw or thinks of infidelity again, so her happiness is now supreme.
After a happy family reunion with all the ladies in Reid's life coming out of their boxes, Reid reassures us that he is a nematode in reformation.
He understands that there are a lot of things he doesn't know and that categorizing his ladies will lead to big problems in his happy home life, so he will always be the most caring and supportive husband he can, with no more other women. Gina is the owner of his heart and can happily meet all of his demands for the ED Rosy Glow HPlandia HEA.
I like this one a lot, tho Reid should have been kicked to the curb for year on his own in a grotty flat with beans on crumbs. Gina is what totally makes this book work. She starts out the typical HP h and she grows on every single page. If Reid had put even a fourth of the effort Gina put into saving her marriage, this would have been a much shorter book.
I also thought it was well played on how Gina let Reid off the hook about his actions and his continual blaming of the OW for making him think about straying.
Yes, Gina was right and she could have hammered it home that it was HIS behavior that got them all into this mess, but she wanted her marriage and she wanted to keep her family together for her children and she really did love Reid. So she let him have his denial of culpability get-out clause and agreed to blame the Evil OW Paige for their drama.
Sometimes if you want to win a negotiation, you have to let the other side save face and I thought that was the biggest test of Gina's maturity in this.
Gina was convinced that Reid did not cheat in physical deed, so her choice was to let his bad behavior go. Tho she was very clear about how much she despised his actions and she was also clear about repercussions in the future if that sort of behavior occurred again.
Gina choosing to let Reid off the hook for actions and his very ugly words in beginning show a grace and maturity that will have many a reader screaming for a skillet. But I got her decision, and it really WAS a conscious decision on her part.
That puts this book on the HP required reading list. It isn't often that an HP h will take such a decisive stand and it is even rarer that an HP H will sincerely apologize for his bad behavior and more importantly, cognitively UNDERSTAND why what he did was wrong and then proceed to live that new awareness.
ED shows all of that with this one, it is a very well done angstfest of trainwrecky EPIC proportions. It is a groundbreaker in terms of defining boundaries in a marriage and a relationship and a must read for an excellent HPlandia outing.
This one is about marital infidelity, so jump off now if you aren't up for the ride.
We start with 28 yr old Gina, nice Italian Catholic girl and mother of three after six years of marriage. Gina is married to Reid, a 39 yr old smug, patriarchal Captain of Industry. It is Gina's one and only marriage and Reid's second.
The book starts with Gina contemplating Reid over the dinner table, while he ignores her diligent efforts to make him a nice home life, and realizing that if this how an HEA is supposed to work out, she isn't down for it.
Gina is lonely, Reid seems to firmly categorize her as a mother and housekeeper and the fizzles that she felt when she first met him have just gone by the wayside. Gina decides something needs to change.
So when she questions Reid about an upcoming business trip where he will be staying in a suite apartment hotel setup with his beautiful assistant, instead of his usual London hotel, alarm bells start clanging.
Especially when Reid mockingly insists that nothing is going to change for Gina, her cozy, well-heeled set up is guaranteed for life, as Gina is the mother of his children. Gina is hurt by this accusation, she didn't get married for some 'cozy set up and cushy life', she married Reid because she fell head over heels in love with a handsome prince.
But as the years pass, the handsome prince withdraws into a total toad and Gina feels smacked in the face with a fish when Reid very crudely indicates that she is a total zero in bed. Reid is resentful that he feels he does all the work and Gina barely responds to any of it.
Gina is confused. Her background was an Old Skool Italian Catholic Mum and an education by nuns. As with most backgrounds of this type, sex and sexuality was NEVER discussed and in a misguided attempt to keep girls safe, Gina was taught that men chased, women were demure and shyly hinted yes or no. Gina was also taught that unless you were in a lawful marital relationship, it had better ALWAYS be NO and even then you shouldn't be too enthusiastic.
So Gina has no clue as to how to help Reid find more fulfillment. This is the 90's and there is always Masters and Johnson, but Gina was taught from a young age that 'nice girls and good wives and mothers don't sully themselves with that sort of thing.'
Plus Gina has been preggers for most of the six years of the marriage, so her body image hasn't been the best, as it seemed to her she was constantly distended by pregnancy and so much of what is considered attractive femininity is rail thin model types with cheekbones to die for.
Not that Gina is unattractive, she is actually beautiful. But again her upbringing and even Reid's mother, are all of the school that a true lady doesn't flaunt her assets. Reid agrees with this to a certain extent, he married a mum this time around, not a high flyer piece of arm candy.
But Reid believes the downside to natural mum's seems to be that they have no excitement to bring to the lurve club event required for a stork visit. Or if they do manage to fake some passion, it is probably to manipulate a guy who is quite happy to take his needs to a leggy blonde with some spark, who won't interfere with his home life.
Gina puts 28 yrs of inhibitions and body issues aside and takes a chance on seducing Reid in the shower. Reid is actually angered by the attempt and Gina's insistence that there needs to be a change in their relationship leads to very angry, but passionate boudoir moments.
Gina finds the entire night with its heated events a complete revelation, she had no clue as to what she had been missing. Tho she is a bit disheartened over her son's childish repeating that Daddy said, in a very cranky manner, about Gina's mental state 'Sick and sore and sorry for herself, most likely. But not to worry, Patrick. Your mother will be back to her normal self in no time flat.'
Gina rightly surmises that Reid's cynicism about her manipulating him hasn't been abated by the big Passion Mojo moment, even tho Gina is entirely sincere on her part. So Gina sends Reid a basket of roses, much like he did in the early days of their marriage to thank her from some thoughtful thing or upon the birth of their daughter, thanking him for the night of her life.
There is a lovely scene where Reid is getting the flowers and the delivery lady is making a big deal about a guy getting roses. Reid's potential affair partner, his assistant Paige, is glaring daggers and then Gina shows up.
She thought she might take Reid to lunch and then to a hotel for some afternoon deelites. Reid comes across as an utter nematode slime swiller as he once again degenerate's Gina's sexuality and her new found passion for the bedroom. He goes a bit too far when tells her she doesn't have to tart herself out to keep her lifestyle and Gina is very hurt.
That hurt turns to fury when Gina finds out that it is Reid's assistant that is going on the all-so-important lunch date with Reid. Reid explains that it is his assistant's birthday and that he made plans to take her out a long time ago.
(Reid conveniently fails to mention that he had been planning to put the initial seduction moves to start an affair with the woman into play over lunch, but Gina's next moves pretty much push his lecherous intent to the back of his mind.)
Gina has a major shout down about Reid putting his assistant before his wife and pretty much tells him if he goes the infidelity route his hiney will be getting a big surprise. Gina shouts that she has been sweet and accommodating and trying hard to make their marriage work, but if Reid can't do better than this, well she wants more in her life than that and she will work to get it.
Then she asks for the business card of Reid's travel agent, since Reid told her to make her own plans if she wants to go to Europe, Gina intends to do just that. Reid gets a phone call later that afternoon and Gina has indeed booked herself onto Reid's trip, including sharing the suspicious hotel suite.
Reid once again threatens Gina that she better not mess up his business trip. Gina is terrified, this is a huge risk for a woman who is basically an introvert, but she is determined to save her marriage if she can.
Gina gets to the airport and she isn't wearing a bra, because Reid was all about liking the jiggle when an unfettered woman walks around. Heads are turning right and left, cause an unbound Gina really makes an impact.
The assistant, Paige, and Reid are waiting at the gate. There is a big kerfuffle as Paige tries to make Gina seem like an imposition taking up Reid's business time when Paige offers to switch seats. Gina feels belittled, cause she earnestly promised Reid she would NOT interfere with the serious business he was going to conduct. (Little knowing that his 'serious' business was monkey business.)
Gina firmly declines to sit next to Reid and is perfectly happy with the caviar and vodka and her seating companion offered on the flight. Reid starts to get the hint that he is an utter idiot and he also starts to miss just how much fun Gina is to be with. He regrets that he made such a big deal about business, cause now he wants to sit with Gina.
Things take a definitive dive when we get to London and the suite hotel. Paige swans around naked under a towel robe while in full battle makeup and after some verbal sparing with the woman, Gina realizes that Reid is probably already involved in an affair with her.
Even if Reid isn't shagging her silly every chance he gets, he and Paige were certainly planning on it based on the suite setup and Gina knows that she isn't going to live like that.
Gina finally uses that spine of steel she has been growing for the last nine chapters. She looks at Reid and sees a lying toad snot snarfer, who has the extremely bad taste to put his mistress and his wife under the same roof and she wants no part of it.
She waits until a distinctly disturbed Reid and Paige are gone for the day and she gets herself into another hotel. She leaves Reid a note explaining that she is done and not to be bothered and Reid is pretty much beside himself.
The situation when he left Gina alone in the suite hotel bothers him greatly, Gina is avoiding him like he is some loathsome piece of slime that will contaminate her and when he asks Paige about it, her very sly insinuations set off his inner alarm bells.
Reid leaves a note of his own with a basket of roses for Gina, he tells her he loves her and wants to talk, but Gina is walking out the door of the hotel while the roses are being carried in and she never gets them.
We get a little time jump here. Gina has been having a great time touring London for the past five days, while firmly rebuffing any attempts by Reid to contact her. Gina is done, she has agreed to meet Reid at Rules, the oldest Restaurant in London in Convent Garden on Maiden Lane, and Gina intends this dinner to be a discussion about separation and divorce.
Reid is there being anxious, he really starts to wonder if Gina is going to show up and when she does, he is even more scared. Gina is all about how SHE was working towards making a better marriage and HE was all about screwing around.
Gina hammers it home that she accommodates and tries to please him because that is her idear of a loving marriage and he just doesn't give a damn about what she needs or wants. He put her in a box and told her to like it and when she tries to break out, she finds out he had the audacity to book her into the same suite as his tart.
Reid is very quick to reassure Gina that Paige is history, it seems she has a long past of seducing and then blackmailing employers and he paid her off and locked her out and sent her on her way the same day that Gina left him.
Gina is not about to be cozened by that line of mushroom fertilizer, Paige may have been predatory and out to create some drama, but Reid is the one who went there and it was his decision to cheat.
Reid is pretty convincing in his assertions that he never slept with Paige and to be fair, ED does give us a lot of his POV and we see him thinking about it, but there are NO scenes where he and Paige interact in that way.
Then Gina asks about Reid's first wife, because it seems that Reid is making assumptions and blaming her for behaviors that he attributed to his first marriage. Reid doesn't want to talk about it, but Gina doesn't back down. Gina knows she is carrying the baggage for another woman's actions and she wants this resolved if the marriage is going to continue.
Reid explains that his first wife was a manipulative gold digger who wanted the high life and only put out when she could gain something. It all fell apart when Reid finally realized her game and they divorced. Then he met Gina and she was sweet and selling children's books and she looked like a very nice girl who would never dream of using her body to get a new Ferrari.
This revelation leads to Reid's unhappiness in the bedroom, cause he never realized that not using sex as a weapon or as a bribe also meant that he wouldn't be getting any purple passion either. Gina again takes him to task, she reminds him of his age, her background and her upbringing and reminds him that she was all about grooming unicorns when they met.
She also explains about how pregnancy made her feel undesirable and Reid hastens to assure her that pregnancy made her bloom and he was criminal for not telling her that. But Gina isn't done, she has more to say and this time Reid is going to be able to repeat it. In a lovely smackdown for Reid's smug complacency about passion moments, Gina hits the hard notes.
She flat out asks Reid where was she supposed to learn about sex if not from him - he was the older and experienced one. Her mother was very strict about morality and while she liked being intimate, everything she learned in life was to be lady like and restrained - he even reinforced that by his behavior that she was too 'fragile' to hear that he was disappointed in bed.
The light finally dawns in Reid's head that HE is the biggest problem denominator in this situation. His adamant determination to categorize and patronize women has led to his own downfall, tho he blames it all on the OW.
He does apologize very sincerely and Gina wants her marriage to work enough that she will allow Reid to believe that she believes it really was both the OW's fault that Reid is a snot snarfing complacent patriarchal nematode.
Gina and Reid have a grand and glorious passionate reunion and Reid is now determined to always treat Gina as the Queen of His Heart. Gina is satisfied that Reid is well aware of what he will lose if he continues to withdraw or thinks of infidelity again, so her happiness is now supreme.
After a happy family reunion with all the ladies in Reid's life coming out of their boxes, Reid reassures us that he is a nematode in reformation.
He understands that there are a lot of things he doesn't know and that categorizing his ladies will lead to big problems in his happy home life, so he will always be the most caring and supportive husband he can, with no more other women. Gina is the owner of his heart and can happily meet all of his demands for the ED Rosy Glow HPlandia HEA.
I like this one a lot, tho Reid should have been kicked to the curb for year on his own in a grotty flat with beans on crumbs. Gina is what totally makes this book work. She starts out the typical HP h and she grows on every single page. If Reid had put even a fourth of the effort Gina put into saving her marriage, this would have been a much shorter book.
I also thought it was well played on how Gina let Reid off the hook about his actions and his continual blaming of the OW for making him think about straying.
Yes, Gina was right and she could have hammered it home that it was HIS behavior that got them all into this mess, but she wanted her marriage and she wanted to keep her family together for her children and she really did love Reid. So she let him have his denial of culpability get-out clause and agreed to blame the Evil OW Paige for their drama.
Sometimes if you want to win a negotiation, you have to let the other side save face and I thought that was the biggest test of Gina's maturity in this.
Gina was convinced that Reid did not cheat in physical deed, so her choice was to let his bad behavior go. Tho she was very clear about how much she despised his actions and she was also clear about repercussions in the future if that sort of behavior occurred again.
Gina choosing to let Reid off the hook for actions and his very ugly words in beginning show a grace and maturity that will have many a reader screaming for a skillet. But I got her decision, and it really WAS a conscious decision on her part.
That puts this book on the HP required reading list. It isn't often that an HP h will take such a decisive stand and it is even rarer that an HP H will sincerely apologize for his bad behavior and more importantly, cognitively UNDERSTAND why what he did was wrong and then proceed to live that new awareness.
ED shows all of that with this one, it is a very well done angstfest of trainwrecky EPIC proportions. It is a groundbreaker in terms of defining boundaries in a marriage and a relationship and a must read for an excellent HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2022
2 stars. I thought 'talk first, make babies later' is the modus operandi, not vice versa. What a silly goose. 😔
Only took them one hot sex session to realize that communication has to happen before and not after you have sex and make THREE kids. If someone tells you that this book has the miscommunication trope, don't believe them. This book has a severe case of NO COMMUNICATION between the MCs whatsoever. Makes me wonder what Gina and Reid's sex life was like back when they were so busy procreating they barely had time for a small talk. Or a talk about their sexual preferences. 😔
This book had a good potential to turn into one of great marriage-in-peril books: an angsty, tear-inducing, emotion-fested story about a married couple finding their way back to each other.
But it reads like a basic story about two strangers discovering the pleasures of sex for the first time. I guess better late than never.
The moral of the story: a quality fuck brings your marriage good luck.
Gina and Reid were so awkward together on page, it's not even credible that they have been married for more than 6 years and gave birth to 3 children. There's more sense of familiarity between me and my pen pals than these two who have been living under the same roof for years and bringing up their kids together.
It was all very confusing: what the author told about their relationship didn't add up to the dynamics that she actually showed. Wow. Even if you aren't particularly fond of your partner, you still see them every day and bring up your kids together? Even if Gina and Reid weren't the epitome of the affectionate couple, nothing justified the fact that they sounded as if they were TOTAL STRANGERS WHO MET A WEEK AGO and never talked about anything beyond the weather, who are now forced to bear each other's presence on a daily basis.
The above mentioned prevented me from feeling any type of angst where these two were concerned. In fact, this book has one of my tropes to-go when I want a good and emotional hurt & comfort read — emotional cheating — but I couldn't spare a single emotion on strangers whose marriage had started to fall apart at the seams long before the OW made her appearance. Go ahead, divorce, divide assets. Ain't nobody's business if you do. 😴😴😴
I have to say that emotional cheating thingie could have saved this book from being an absolute bore. THE POTENTIAL OF EMOTIONAL CHEATING IS SO UNDERESTIMATED IN THIS GENRE. If Reid just fucked that bitch he was working with one time and never gave her the time of day ever again, it would be one thing. Still bad, but not much potential for angst. But Reid kept indulging the OW: spending quality time with her (treating her lunch on her birthday 🤡), not rejecting her advances outrightly, appreciating her intelligence and prioritising his time with her versa his time with wifey. That shit HURTS. IT HITS HOME. He didn't fuck the OW, but he did something worse: he wasted valuable resources — such as his time, money, emotions — on her. And we all know that men won't just waste their financial and emotional resources on an easy lay, which makes emotional cheating much worse than physical one. In my humble opinion. 😏
But unfortunately the author wrote the major conflict as an afterthought. According to the plot, cheating is definitely a breaking point in Gina and Reid's marriage. Yet, its execution sucked since for the most part all of his little moments with the OW were told rather than shown. We get to know about his little randevous, not experience it firsthand.
Also, I think that Reid would have definitely fucked his OW colleague if the heroine hadn't disrupted his plans to stay in a shared suite with her during his business trip. 🤡 For strictly professional purposes, of course. 😏
Reid's change of heart was so abrupt, too. From cold, uncaring man to affectionate little malewife in 3 milliseconds? Ridiculous. After one hot sex, initiated by his wife (a long overdue one at that), and her abandoning his almost-cheater-pumpkin-eater ass, he suddenly realizes that he can't lose his angel of a wife. Oh, and don't forget that the OW is a conniving, heartless, bitchy bitch. She's to blame these two didn't have enough brain cells to communicate their needs and hold a civilised conversation. 🙏🏻 Bravo. *scarce claps ensue*
REID HASN'T SPARED GINA A SINGLE CONVERSATION, A SLIVER OF ATTENTION THROUGHOUT THEIR 6-year MARRIAGE, BUT NOW HE'S INTERESTED IN SAVING THEIR MARRIAGE?
I didn't buy any of this bullshit. Even by the end of the book Gina and Reid acted like strangers, they didn't come across as naturally affectionate and sincere with each other. More like two strangers who realised that huh the sex is good, so why not?
Good premise and lazy, lame, offhanded execution. I'd love to blame it all on the short length, but I know authors who could squeeze a credible backstory, solid character arcs and amazing relationship development in books just as short.
For those who like this type of stories, I strongly recommend one of my fav angsty marriage-in-peril books:
The Ultimate Betrayal
Only took them one hot sex session to realize that communication has to happen before and not after you have sex and make THREE kids. If someone tells you that this book has the miscommunication trope, don't believe them. This book has a severe case of NO COMMUNICATION between the MCs whatsoever. Makes me wonder what Gina and Reid's sex life was like back when they were so busy procreating they barely had time for a small talk. Or a talk about their sexual preferences. 😔
This book had a good potential to turn into one of great marriage-in-peril books: an angsty, tear-inducing, emotion-fested story about a married couple finding their way back to each other.
But it reads like a basic story about two strangers discovering the pleasures of sex for the first time. I guess better late than never.
The moral of the story: a quality fuck brings your marriage good luck.
Gina and Reid were so awkward together on page, it's not even credible that they have been married for more than 6 years and gave birth to 3 children. There's more sense of familiarity between me and my pen pals than these two who have been living under the same roof for years and bringing up their kids together.
It was all very confusing: what the author told about their relationship didn't add up to the dynamics that she actually showed. Wow. Even if you aren't particularly fond of your partner, you still see them every day and bring up your kids together? Even if Gina and Reid weren't the epitome of the affectionate couple, nothing justified the fact that they sounded as if they were TOTAL STRANGERS WHO MET A WEEK AGO and never talked about anything beyond the weather, who are now forced to bear each other's presence on a daily basis.
The above mentioned prevented me from feeling any type of angst where these two were concerned. In fact, this book has one of my tropes to-go when I want a good and emotional hurt & comfort read — emotional cheating — but I couldn't spare a single emotion on strangers whose marriage had started to fall apart at the seams long before the OW made her appearance. Go ahead, divorce, divide assets. Ain't nobody's business if you do. 😴😴😴
I have to say that emotional cheating thingie could have saved this book from being an absolute bore. THE POTENTIAL OF EMOTIONAL CHEATING IS SO UNDERESTIMATED IN THIS GENRE. If Reid just fucked that bitch he was working with one time and never gave her the time of day ever again, it would be one thing. Still bad, but not much potential for angst. But Reid kept indulging the OW: spending quality time with her (treating her lunch on her birthday 🤡), not rejecting her advances outrightly, appreciating her intelligence and prioritising his time with her versa his time with wifey. That shit HURTS. IT HITS HOME. He didn't fuck the OW, but he did something worse: he wasted valuable resources — such as his time, money, emotions — on her. And we all know that men won't just waste their financial and emotional resources on an easy lay, which makes emotional cheating much worse than physical one. In my humble opinion. 😏
But unfortunately the author wrote the major conflict as an afterthought. According to the plot, cheating is definitely a breaking point in Gina and Reid's marriage. Yet, its execution sucked since for the most part all of his little moments with the OW were told rather than shown. We get to know about his little randevous, not experience it firsthand.
Also, I think that Reid would have definitely fucked his OW colleague if the heroine hadn't disrupted his plans to stay in a shared suite with her during his business trip. 🤡 For strictly professional purposes, of course. 😏
Reid's change of heart was so abrupt, too. From cold, uncaring man to affectionate little malewife in 3 milliseconds? Ridiculous. After one hot sex, initiated by his wife (a long overdue one at that), and her abandoning his almost-cheater-pumpkin-eater ass, he suddenly realizes that he can't lose his angel of a wife. Oh, and don't forget that the OW is a conniving, heartless, bitchy bitch. She's to blame these two didn't have enough brain cells to communicate their needs and hold a civilised conversation. 🙏🏻 Bravo. *scarce claps ensue*
REID HASN'T SPARED GINA A SINGLE CONVERSATION, A SLIVER OF ATTENTION THROUGHOUT THEIR 6-year MARRIAGE, BUT NOW HE'S INTERESTED IN SAVING THEIR MARRIAGE?
I didn't buy any of this bullshit. Even by the end of the book Gina and Reid acted like strangers, they didn't come across as naturally affectionate and sincere with each other. More like two strangers who realised that huh the sex is good, so why not?
Good premise and lazy, lame, offhanded execution. I'd love to blame it all on the short length, but I know authors who could squeeze a credible backstory, solid character arcs and amazing relationship development in books just as short.
For those who like this type of stories, I strongly recommend one of my fav angsty marriage-in-peril books:
The Ultimate Betrayal
June 7, 2012
This is one emotional roller coaster and definitely one of the best HPs out there. But I am slightly miffed..so be forewarned that the rest is filled with Spoilers. Read at your own risk!
Reid and Gina have been married for seven years, with three lovely children. Gina is beginning to sense that Reid is withdrawing from their marriage and is fearful that he might be having an affair, or about to start one. Over dinner one night, she discovers that he is going on a two week business trip with his young beautiful PA. Coincidentally, she finds out they will be sharing a single suite in a quaint romantic English hotel. Alarm bells start to go off for Gina and she decides to seduce her husband, hoping she can stop him from having an affair with his PA and keep him fully committed to their marriage.
At this point, we learn that Reid is fed up at feeling only like the financial provider, of never feeling wanted sexually. He tells Gina not to bother and not to worry. In fact, he would respect her more if she would just skip the whole seduction scene and just admit that she is motivated by fear of losing her little nest egg rather than any desire for Reid. He swears that nothing will change for her just because he has another outlet for his passion. He still needs her to be his wife and mother to his children. However, he doesn't realize that Gina wants more from him than a marriage on paper.
Gina fights for Reid, trying every sexual move she can think to make him feel desired and loved by her. She even goes so far as to insert herself into the trip with his PA.....hoping to make it a second honeymoon.
However, a funny thing happens once they safely arrive in London. Being in the love suite, along with his PA makes Gina come face to face with Reid's duplicity. Seeing first hand, what her husband was willing to do turns her cold.
There were tears burning behind her eyes. She wished Reid would leave her alone to come to terms with a marriage that could be far more fractured than she'd realized. What kind of man housed a wife and a mistress - or would be mistress - under the same roof?
Gina walks out on Reid deciding to spend time in London on her own. She needs time to come to grips with her wrecked marriage and decide on the next steps for her.
She was sick to her soul. She wished she'd never found out, wished she'd stayed at home, wished....Hopeless futile wishing. What was done was done and couldn't be undone. Reid was the blind one now if he thought moving Paige Calder to another apartment would gloss over the situation. All it did was remove the deceit from under her nose, And he was the one who had castigated her about living a pretense!
However, as they say timing is everything. Somewhere on the flight over to Europe, Reid realized that he wanted to fight for Gina and for his marriage. He realizes that the situation he has going with his PA was not only risky, but stupid. He wants to work at his marriage. While in London, he fires the PA and sends daily missives to his wife pleading for her to come back. He is finally able to get her to have dinner with him to talk through their issues.
And this is where the book sadly falls apart. Reid wants forgiven because he never actually had an affair with the PA. He claims that his PA set everything up simply to put the screws to him because that's the way some people are. (I actually thought his choice of words were rather interesting). But the sad thing is WE (meaning, Reid, Gina, Paige, you, me, the whole world) know that had Gina not gone to Europe the affair would have happened. But somehow, she easily forgives him, runs off to another hotel with him and they have their HEA...............and that was when I as a reader on page 119 of 128, screamed "What????" "Are you kidding me?" "Gina, are you crazy?" " Then I stopped to realize, maybe it really was all about the nest egg?
Reid and Gina have been married for seven years, with three lovely children. Gina is beginning to sense that Reid is withdrawing from their marriage and is fearful that he might be having an affair, or about to start one. Over dinner one night, she discovers that he is going on a two week business trip with his young beautiful PA. Coincidentally, she finds out they will be sharing a single suite in a quaint romantic English hotel. Alarm bells start to go off for Gina and she decides to seduce her husband, hoping she can stop him from having an affair with his PA and keep him fully committed to their marriage.
At this point, we learn that Reid is fed up at feeling only like the financial provider, of never feeling wanted sexually. He tells Gina not to bother and not to worry. In fact, he would respect her more if she would just skip the whole seduction scene and just admit that she is motivated by fear of losing her little nest egg rather than any desire for Reid. He swears that nothing will change for her just because he has another outlet for his passion. He still needs her to be his wife and mother to his children. However, he doesn't realize that Gina wants more from him than a marriage on paper.
Gina fights for Reid, trying every sexual move she can think to make him feel desired and loved by her. She even goes so far as to insert herself into the trip with his PA.....hoping to make it a second honeymoon.
However, a funny thing happens once they safely arrive in London. Being in the love suite, along with his PA makes Gina come face to face with Reid's duplicity. Seeing first hand, what her husband was willing to do turns her cold.
There were tears burning behind her eyes. She wished Reid would leave her alone to come to terms with a marriage that could be far more fractured than she'd realized. What kind of man housed a wife and a mistress - or would be mistress - under the same roof?
Gina walks out on Reid deciding to spend time in London on her own. She needs time to come to grips with her wrecked marriage and decide on the next steps for her.
She was sick to her soul. She wished she'd never found out, wished she'd stayed at home, wished....Hopeless futile wishing. What was done was done and couldn't be undone. Reid was the blind one now if he thought moving Paige Calder to another apartment would gloss over the situation. All it did was remove the deceit from under her nose, And he was the one who had castigated her about living a pretense!
However, as they say timing is everything. Somewhere on the flight over to Europe, Reid realized that he wanted to fight for Gina and for his marriage. He realizes that the situation he has going with his PA was not only risky, but stupid. He wants to work at his marriage. While in London, he fires the PA and sends daily missives to his wife pleading for her to come back. He is finally able to get her to have dinner with him to talk through their issues.
And this is where the book sadly falls apart. Reid wants forgiven because he never actually had an affair with the PA. He claims that his PA set everything up simply to put the screws to him because that's the way some people are. (I actually thought his choice of words were rather interesting). But the sad thing is WE (meaning, Reid, Gina, Paige, you, me, the whole world) know that had Gina not gone to Europe the affair would have happened. But somehow, she easily forgives him, runs off to another hotel with him and they have their HEA...............and that was when I as a reader on page 119 of 128, screamed "What????" "Are you kidding me?" "Gina, are you crazy?" " Then I stopped to realize, maybe it really was all about the nest egg?
June 9, 2021
Re-read after Boogenhagen's excellent review. Still five stars.
I had forgotten what a *riveting* story this is. I could barely look up from it even though I've read it before and all the reviews were fresh in my mind.
This time I was struck by how reptilian the wanna-be OW was. The air of menace around her was palpable and I'm glad the hero finally clued in - especially how he would have been under a blackmail threat if he had done anything with her.
I was further struck by how the hero really didn't know how to have sex with someone he loved. His first marriage really did warp him. I don't think I picked up on his immature view of relationships the first time around.
He and the heroine were a matched set in not really knowing what they wanted or how to get it - but they did see it through. The hero picking up the slack after the heroine had given up. I love how she made him talk about his first marriage. He truly wanted her back.
I also liked how the story opened with the heroine's point of view and ended with the hero's. They were home after a very long journey - in more ways than one. Just a perfect feel-good moment.
First review:
Whew! This was a difficult book to get through. The heroine was so brave to face her fears/instincts about what her husband is up to. I really liked her attitude. The hero was an idiot who only understood women if he put them into neat boxes. Wife/mother/homemaker or career woman/exciting sex partner. He was entitled enough to think he could have both in his life.
I had forgotten what a *riveting* story this is. I could barely look up from it even though I've read it before and all the reviews were fresh in my mind.
This time I was struck by how reptilian the wanna-be OW was. The air of menace around her was palpable and I'm glad the hero finally clued in - especially how he would have been under a blackmail threat if he had done anything with her.
I was further struck by how the hero really didn't know how to have sex with someone he loved. His first marriage really did warp him. I don't think I picked up on his immature view of relationships the first time around.
He and the heroine were a matched set in not really knowing what they wanted or how to get it - but they did see it through. The hero picking up the slack after the heroine had given up. I love how she made him talk about his first marriage. He truly wanted her back.
I also liked how the story opened with the heroine's point of view and ended with the hero's. They were home after a very long journey - in more ways than one. Just a perfect feel-good moment.
First review:
Whew! This was a difficult book to get through. The heroine was so brave to face her fears/instincts about what her husband is up to. I really liked her attitude. The hero was an idiot who only understood women if he put them into neat boxes. Wife/mother/homemaker or career woman/exciting sex partner. He was entitled enough to think he could have both in his life.
August 20, 2015
Not sure how to rate this. I'm not a real fan of reality in HPLand and a couple of books I've read by Darcy have strayed too far into that territory for my personal tastes.
I see what she was trying to do with the 'what happens after riding into the sunset' type of approach to an HP. I think she succeeded in many ways as far as addressing the things - mostly never spoken of - that get between a husband and wife. And, honestly, it is good food for thought for those of us who are married or in a long-term committed relationship.
I've always been a bit of the mind that 'people can't and don't change' and consequently don't waste my time trying. Then again, as the heroine pointed out, it's not fair to make assumptions about someone and never give the other person a chance to make an effort. HOWEVER, infidelity is taking things a disgusting step too far.
The H never actually does the deed, but he would have. The only reason he doesn't is because the wife wises up to the situation and puts herself between herself and the wannabe-OW. And while it is disgusting to pursue a married man, the H was a big boy. You can't put all the blame on the OW.
I was thinking 4 stars until I got to the end and realized how woefully uneven this tale was. It wasn't that I didn't believe the H had recommitted himself to the relationship, it was the lack of comeuppance for the way he treated the heroine. He was so unnecessarily cruel to the heroine, I just didn't get it at all. I know he felt his pride had been hurt by her seeming disinterest, but there was no excuse for how he behaved and the things he accused her of. He was much older, much more experienced and he thought his virginal wife who was raised very conservatively was just supposed to know he wanted her to come on to him and perform more daring sex acts? And the venom with which he rejected her was absolutely inexcusable. Just disgusting.
In the end we get her leaving for a few days and apparently he's miserable, but it only lasts a page or two. He acknowledges he was wrong, but the wife suffered through 90% of the book and very unfairly. I wanted more than 2 pages of suffering on the H's part and, in the end, never felt he truly deserved her. He was definitely the lucky one to have someone who'd give his hateful ass a second chance. Apparently I'm extremely blood thirsty.
I see what she was trying to do with the 'what happens after riding into the sunset' type of approach to an HP. I think she succeeded in many ways as far as addressing the things - mostly never spoken of - that get between a husband and wife. And, honestly, it is good food for thought for those of us who are married or in a long-term committed relationship.
I've always been a bit of the mind that 'people can't and don't change' and consequently don't waste my time trying. Then again, as the heroine pointed out, it's not fair to make assumptions about someone and never give the other person a chance to make an effort. HOWEVER, infidelity is taking things a disgusting step too far.
The H never actually does the deed, but he would have. The only reason he doesn't is because the wife wises up to the situation and puts herself between herself and the wannabe-OW. And while it is disgusting to pursue a married man, the H was a big boy. You can't put all the blame on the OW.
I was thinking 4 stars until I got to the end and realized how woefully uneven this tale was. It wasn't that I didn't believe the H had recommitted himself to the relationship, it was the lack of comeuppance for the way he treated the heroine. He was so unnecessarily cruel to the heroine, I just didn't get it at all. I know he felt his pride had been hurt by her seeming disinterest, but there was no excuse for how he behaved and the things he accused her of. He was much older, much more experienced and he thought his virginal wife who was raised very conservatively was just supposed to know he wanted her to come on to him and perform more daring sex acts? And the venom with which he rejected her was absolutely inexcusable. Just disgusting.
In the end we get her leaving for a few days and apparently he's miserable, but it only lasts a page or two. He acknowledges he was wrong, but the wife suffered through 90% of the book and very unfairly. I wanted more than 2 pages of suffering on the H's part and, in the end, never felt he truly deserved her. He was definitely the lucky one to have someone who'd give his hateful ass a second chance. Apparently I'm extremely blood thirsty.
August 1, 2022
I've read Michelle Reid's Ultimate Betrayal, which to me is the best tackle of infidelity I have read in HP, so maybe I am not being fair in having that story as my bar to judge this story.
The difference between the two stories is that in UB the hero is devastated by what he has done and spends the whole book frantically trying to fix his marriage and gain forgiveness. In this story the despicable hero couldn't care less about salvaging his marriage and dumps the whole state of their relationship on the heroine to fix. The heroine for her part is frantic to make her husband happy even though he was a POS.
Five stars for the h trying to save her marriage and venture way out of her comfort zone and conditioning, but frankly her H did not deserve her efforts and her struggle. He was a complete pig.
H was so entitled and narcissistic. He genuinely felt entitled to have an affair because he wasn't getting enough hot sex at home (they have three young children). In fact it was like he couldn't understand why his wife would object because he didn't intend to leave her, he would just have an affair at work and everything would be fine in his world. Holy cow, what a selfish pig.
He was even nasty and belittling and hurtful when she was desperately trying to understand him and change so that she could be better in bed for him.
It was so poignant the way she courageously transformed into a sex siren, but it didn't read as if it was empowering for her because she was desperately trying to do it for his sexual gratification rather than her own sexual emancipation. She retained that heartbreaking air of vulnerability and abject need to cater to his needs right through to the end.
It was also crazy the way he threw his potential girlfriend under the bus. We know from his POV at the beginning that he was definitely planning to hook up with her on their business trip, but the way he covers his arse with his wife is to say the girlfriend was planning to blackmail him. Say what? Now he's the victim? What a lying, manipulative, gaslighting toad.
I can imagine that the next time the H gets bored in his marriage he will be plotting again. There was no reflection on his part that he was being grossly unfair to his wife or that there was something wrong with him thinking about playing away from home, while staying married.
The heroine was so sweet, I just wish she found a man who deserved her.
The difference between the two stories is that in UB the hero is devastated by what he has done and spends the whole book frantically trying to fix his marriage and gain forgiveness. In this story the despicable hero couldn't care less about salvaging his marriage and dumps the whole state of their relationship on the heroine to fix. The heroine for her part is frantic to make her husband happy even though he was a POS.
Five stars for the h trying to save her marriage and venture way out of her comfort zone and conditioning, but frankly her H did not deserve her efforts and her struggle. He was a complete pig.
H was so entitled and narcissistic. He genuinely felt entitled to have an affair because he wasn't getting enough hot sex at home (they have three young children). In fact it was like he couldn't understand why his wife would object because he didn't intend to leave her, he would just have an affair at work and everything would be fine in his world. Holy cow, what a selfish pig.
He was even nasty and belittling and hurtful when she was desperately trying to understand him and change so that she could be better in bed for him.
It was so poignant the way she courageously transformed into a sex siren, but it didn't read as if it was empowering for her because she was desperately trying to do it for his sexual gratification rather than her own sexual emancipation. She retained that heartbreaking air of vulnerability and abject need to cater to his needs right through to the end.
It was also crazy the way he threw his potential girlfriend under the bus. We know from his POV at the beginning that he was definitely planning to hook up with her on their business trip, but the way he covers his arse with his wife is to say the girlfriend was planning to blackmail him. Say what? Now he's the victim? What a lying, manipulative, gaslighting toad.
I can imagine that the next time the H gets bored in his marriage he will be plotting again. There was no reflection on his part that he was being grossly unfair to his wife or that there was something wrong with him thinking about playing away from home, while staying married.
The heroine was so sweet, I just wish she found a man who deserved her.
February 7, 2017
***TWO STARS***
Terrible. Reid was a gigantic asshole. Hated him.
Terrible. Reid was a gigantic asshole. Hated him.
November 14, 2015
Point of View: Dual (Gina & Reid Tyson)
Writing: Third Person | Past Tense
Setting: Sydney/London
Genre: Adult | Contemporary Romance
Personally I think the storyline was a little outdated. Maybe if I had read this book 10 years ago, I might have enjoyed it more. Or maybe not. The most irritating part of the book was the main characters. Both of them really made me mad because it was just pure frustration when Gina was all submissive and pathetic, while Reid was being one of the biggest fictional douche bags I have ever read.
I totally understand that marriage is not a one way street. Both husband and wife need to put efforts into the relationship and all that. But gosh, the way Reid said about how Gina was a passive participant in the relationship made it sound like he tried to keep score or something. It was even more annoying when Gina did try to make it work and he went all angry and made what she had done seem so cheap and stupid. He made me so furious by that point, and later on when he admitted to himself that he did consider cheating on his wife, the tool was dead to me. Therefore when the author tried and made him all caring and loving, I just couldn't care less. You cannot make the hero out to be such a douche and then turn him into a charming and adoring husband within the span of a few days. It just doesn't work that way. Thanks for the efforts, though.
I want to say that it was an emotional story, but then I will have to lie. I didn't feel anything besides anger. I didn't care about any of them because both of them annoyed me from the beginning until the end. This is a classic tale about a pathetic wife and a rich and handsome douche bag husband.
Writing: Third Person | Past Tense
Setting: Sydney/London
Genre: Adult | Contemporary Romance
Personally I think the storyline was a little outdated. Maybe if I had read this book 10 years ago, I might have enjoyed it more. Or maybe not. The most irritating part of the book was the main characters. Both of them really made me mad because it was just pure frustration when Gina was all submissive and pathetic, while Reid was being one of the biggest fictional douche bags I have ever read.
I totally understand that marriage is not a one way street. Both husband and wife need to put efforts into the relationship and all that. But gosh, the way Reid said about how Gina was a passive participant in the relationship made it sound like he tried to keep score or something. It was even more annoying when Gina did try to make it work and he went all angry and made what she had done seem so cheap and stupid. He made me so furious by that point, and later on when he admitted to himself that he did consider cheating on his wife, the tool was dead to me. Therefore when the author tried and made him all caring and loving, I just couldn't care less. You cannot make the hero out to be such a douche and then turn him into a charming and adoring husband within the span of a few days. It just doesn't work that way. Thanks for the efforts, though.
I want to say that it was an emotional story, but then I will have to lie. I didn't feel anything besides anger. I didn't care about any of them because both of them annoyed me from the beginning until the end. This is a classic tale about a pathetic wife and a rich and handsome douche bag husband.
February 6, 2023
Re-read and still is heartbreaking. The moment in the bathroom with the wannabe OW and she realized what was supposed to happen there is beyond sad. Hero was a pig to me.
2/5/23
Another reread for some reason. I remember the pain she felt in this book. No he didn't cheat but thinking about it even was so awful. And he was so mean at the beginning. I did love the ending but it was hard to get to. I have read this so many times because I like how Gina grows as a person and he actually is schooled. He was such an arrogant prick.
2/5/23
Another reread for some reason. I remember the pain she felt in this book. No he didn't cheat but thinking about it even was so awful. And he was so mean at the beginning. I did love the ending but it was hard to get to. I have read this so many times because I like how Gina grows as a person and he actually is schooled. He was such an arrogant prick.
June 5, 2013
Oh my god I was furious at this hero! His wife was a virgin raised by nuns and he expected her to be a wild sex animal? He was the one with all the experience! He was much older than her, he had been married before and he was clearly a sophisticated man. So his cruelty towards the heroine broke my heart. Plus he was seriously on the verge of cheating with his bitchy slut secretary. He drove me crazy!
Still I loved all the angst. This book has all the things I love in a harlequin romance: intrigue, drama, complicated characters and relationships, passion, alpha hero, vulnerable heroine. It's perfection, and I loved every moment. It also had incredible depth and mature writing! It deserves more than 5 stars!
Still I loved all the angst. This book has all the things I love in a harlequin romance: intrigue, drama, complicated characters and relationships, passion, alpha hero, vulnerable heroine. It's perfection, and I loved every moment. It also had incredible depth and mature writing! It deserves more than 5 stars!
May 16, 2022
Re-read:
I must add something to the book after re-reading it.
From a psychological POV.
If they were my clients there are many things I would tell them that I don't like about them and their interactions.
-The heroine. She is the typical desperate housewife, a woman who obviously only wants to be a mother and a dutiful wife, one who provides her husband with a home, food, clean clothes and children.
No good sex. Because she was from a very strict family. No, sorry, I don't believe it at all. We boomers are all from very strict families and if our sex life should depend on what our parents told us or allowed us to do, we would all be doomed and we would never have enjoyed sex in our lifes. The heroine was innocent but she should have felt desire for her husband and she should have enjoyed sex with him, experimenting as every person does all around the world.
She doesn't seem to have enjoyed sex too much.
How much is her fault I don't know but I know that sex is an instinct and if she didn't enjoy sex with her husband there's something wrong in the couple.
Her attitude is wrong too. Only when she realizes that her husband could be thinking about having an affair with his PA she tries to turn into a sex machine. Her attempts are pitiful and I cringed as I saw how inhibited and unexperienced she was. Again, her fault and her husband's too. He's no more guilty than her because he didn't "teach" her things. I don't think it is necessary to have a more experienced person to learn things about sex. This thing is completely false.
It's all very natural. If she wanted her husband she could have tried things herself.
She only offers herself as a human sacrifices when he tells her their sex life was lousy and she never ever started sex with him, and we have the impression that she really was passive.
Not good at all.
She has wild sex with him and thinks everything is ok. It seems to me the hero was right and she only had hot sex with him because she felt her ticket meal threatened by his PA, not because she wanted him.
And this is confirmed when she goes to him the day after and she tells him: it pleases me to please you. So she confirms that she only had wild sex with him because she wanted to please him.
No man wants to hear this.
He wants to hears that she had mad sex with him because she was burning with desire for him and she couldn't go on the way they were. She should have told him that, and that now that she knows that sex is so good she doesn't want to do anything else all day. And with him.
This would have showed him that she loved him and she wanted him for himself, not that she had sex with him because she wanted to keep him satisfied. This is what a prostitute would say. Or a mistress.
Not a woman who loves a man.
And how she invited herself to his business journey with his PA, after he told her he didn't want her to, it was really pitiful. Nope, that was a thing I didn't appreciate.
I remember book I read some time ago, it was a regency, and the wife and husband had been living an almost sexless marriage- only a few times and only to have the heir and the spare- until they were forced to sleep in the same bed, and when her husband made very good sex with her and she enjoyed it very much, she asked him if it could be like that again. When he replied it could, and even better, she asked him why before that night their sex was always so poor.
That is the attitude.
The heroine should have asked him, after that night of fantastic sex, why their sex had been always so poor, and she should have been angry and determined not to have lousy sex any more with him.
I had the impression that all she did she did it because she was afraid that he would cheat on her with his PA, not because she loved him, she cared for him and most of all, because she wanted him.
So, she has great faults here.
The hero.
One of the worst heroes ever.
He's a beta, a passive aggressive, a man who is at fault and doesn't want to recognize it.
I don't believe in his love for the heroine, not at all.
He was ready to cheat on her with his PA and surely he would have.
I don't think he will be faithful.
He's the kind of man who always blames others for his faults.
He never enjoyed sex with his wife, but he never asked her anything. He was the more experienced one, and he should have told her what he wanted.
And he didn't want her to be too dishinibited about sex because his first wife was a woman who used sex to manipulate him.
So the heroine was doomed anyway.
He's also a coward, and he blames his PA in the end, when obviously the woman only did what he made her understand he was willing to do.
So I didn't believe the end, and how he realized he loved her and couldn't live without her.
But the good thing is that I don't think the heroine believed him too. She only pretends to believe him, because she wants her family and she doesn't want him cheating. not that she's much in love with him either.
I think he is an opportunist and saw the danger when he found out he could have been blackmailed by his PA but he didn't regret thinking he would have hurt his wife because he didn't really love her, he's only a selfish bastard.
If he cared about her he could have talked to her instead of programming a nice affair with his PA. The worthless bastard.
Anyway, the book is very good and angsty and both characters have their faults.
I found it a little bit anachronistic.
Maybe if it was written in the 50s, it should be ok.
It’s full of stereotypes. The drab wife who doesn’t enjoy sex, the businessman husband who after 7 years ( yeah, do you remember Marilyn?) suddenly wants to try something new, that is his PA (seriously????)
I checked three or four times when it was written because I thought it impossible that it was written in 1998. That is not much more that 20 years ago.
I don’t remember things to be so much different than today but maybe I’m wrong.
The heroine was raised by very strict and religious parents and of course they were still thinking that good and proper women didn’t have to enjoy sex, they only had to endure it in order to bear children.
Men on the other side enjoyed sex because they couldn’t control their basest impulses.
So, men chose virgin women who were inexperienced and convinced that they should not expect to find pleasure in sexual coupling. And husbands often didn’t even try to make the act pleasant for their wives. Wives were not supposed to perform “things” on their husbands such as oral sex. So, often men went to other women, mistress or ladies of the night, who were willing to enjoy a more free sex.
That is exactly what happens in this book.
Luckily for the heroine she finds out that her husband is going to cheat on her before he actually cheated, but his attitude is that of a man of the past. He’s angry that his wife is not content with the lifestyle he provides her. Why all that fuss?
He actually wants only some good sex with an open minded woman, he doesn’t really want to end his marriage.
Sadly the heroine doesn’t agree with him and she recognizes that their sex life was a lil bit dull, so she changes into a sex goddess.
His husband, instead of being delighted as any other sane man would, is angry and feels he’s being manipulated.
Yes, those men of the past had such fragile and weak ego that they couldn’t endure to stand equal with their wives! Especially about sex!
There’s a very nasty moment where she sees an almost naked ow in their suite and understands he was really going to cheat on her.
The weak H understands he’s about to lose his wife and goes turncoat denying he was ever going to cheat on her, declaring his everlasting love for her and suddenly turns into the perfect husband and dad.
Believable?
Maybe.
Good sex in a couple won’t be everything but sure is better that bad sex. I know, it’s a truism, but if their problem was bad sex and in 1998 there were not so many therapists specialized in sexual issues, in the end the h and the H solved their issues beautifully.
Moral of the story: if you want to keep your man, keep him satisfied in bed.
Simplistic, but then this is a romantic novel and not a treatise on how to deal with lack of sexual desire in married couples isn’t it.
Interesting reading, too anachronistic to be angsty in my opinion.
I must add something to the book after re-reading it.
From a psychological POV.
If they were my clients there are many things I would tell them that I don't like about them and their interactions.
-The heroine. She is the typical desperate housewife, a woman who obviously only wants to be a mother and a dutiful wife, one who provides her husband with a home, food, clean clothes and children.
No good sex. Because she was from a very strict family. No, sorry, I don't believe it at all. We boomers are all from very strict families and if our sex life should depend on what our parents told us or allowed us to do, we would all be doomed and we would never have enjoyed sex in our lifes. The heroine was innocent but she should have felt desire for her husband and she should have enjoyed sex with him, experimenting as every person does all around the world.
She doesn't seem to have enjoyed sex too much.
How much is her fault I don't know but I know that sex is an instinct and if she didn't enjoy sex with her husband there's something wrong in the couple.
Her attitude is wrong too. Only when she realizes that her husband could be thinking about having an affair with his PA she tries to turn into a sex machine. Her attempts are pitiful and I cringed as I saw how inhibited and unexperienced she was. Again, her fault and her husband's too. He's no more guilty than her because he didn't "teach" her things. I don't think it is necessary to have a more experienced person to learn things about sex. This thing is completely false.
It's all very natural. If she wanted her husband she could have tried things herself.
She only offers herself as a human sacrifices when he tells her their sex life was lousy and she never ever started sex with him, and we have the impression that she really was passive.
Not good at all.
She has wild sex with him and thinks everything is ok. It seems to me the hero was right and she only had hot sex with him because she felt her ticket meal threatened by his PA, not because she wanted him.
And this is confirmed when she goes to him the day after and she tells him: it pleases me to please you. So she confirms that she only had wild sex with him because she wanted to please him.
No man wants to hear this.
He wants to hears that she had mad sex with him because she was burning with desire for him and she couldn't go on the way they were. She should have told him that, and that now that she knows that sex is so good she doesn't want to do anything else all day. And with him.
This would have showed him that she loved him and she wanted him for himself, not that she had sex with him because she wanted to keep him satisfied. This is what a prostitute would say. Or a mistress.
Not a woman who loves a man.
And how she invited herself to his business journey with his PA, after he told her he didn't want her to, it was really pitiful. Nope, that was a thing I didn't appreciate.
I remember book I read some time ago, it was a regency, and the wife and husband had been living an almost sexless marriage- only a few times and only to have the heir and the spare- until they were forced to sleep in the same bed, and when her husband made very good sex with her and she enjoyed it very much, she asked him if it could be like that again. When he replied it could, and even better, she asked him why before that night their sex was always so poor.
That is the attitude.
The heroine should have asked him, after that night of fantastic sex, why their sex had been always so poor, and she should have been angry and determined not to have lousy sex any more with him.
I had the impression that all she did she did it because she was afraid that he would cheat on her with his PA, not because she loved him, she cared for him and most of all, because she wanted him.
So, she has great faults here.
The hero.
One of the worst heroes ever.
He's a beta, a passive aggressive, a man who is at fault and doesn't want to recognize it.
I don't believe in his love for the heroine, not at all.
He was ready to cheat on her with his PA and surely he would have.
I don't think he will be faithful.
He's the kind of man who always blames others for his faults.
He never enjoyed sex with his wife, but he never asked her anything. He was the more experienced one, and he should have told her what he wanted.
And he didn't want her to be too dishinibited about sex because his first wife was a woman who used sex to manipulate him.
So the heroine was doomed anyway.
He's also a coward, and he blames his PA in the end, when obviously the woman only did what he made her understand he was willing to do.
So I didn't believe the end, and how he realized he loved her and couldn't live without her.
But the good thing is that I don't think the heroine believed him too. She only pretends to believe him, because she wants her family and she doesn't want him cheating. not that she's much in love with him either.
I think he is an opportunist and saw the danger when he found out he could have been blackmailed by his PA but he didn't regret thinking he would have hurt his wife because he didn't really love her, he's only a selfish bastard.
If he cared about her he could have talked to her instead of programming a nice affair with his PA. The worthless bastard.
Anyway, the book is very good and angsty and both characters have their faults.
I found it a little bit anachronistic.
Maybe if it was written in the 50s, it should be ok.
It’s full of stereotypes. The drab wife who doesn’t enjoy sex, the businessman husband who after 7 years ( yeah, do you remember Marilyn?) suddenly wants to try something new, that is his PA (seriously????)
I checked three or four times when it was written because I thought it impossible that it was written in 1998. That is not much more that 20 years ago.
I don’t remember things to be so much different than today but maybe I’m wrong.
The heroine was raised by very strict and religious parents and of course they were still thinking that good and proper women didn’t have to enjoy sex, they only had to endure it in order to bear children.
Men on the other side enjoyed sex because they couldn’t control their basest impulses.
So, men chose virgin women who were inexperienced and convinced that they should not expect to find pleasure in sexual coupling. And husbands often didn’t even try to make the act pleasant for their wives. Wives were not supposed to perform “things” on their husbands such as oral sex. So, often men went to other women, mistress or ladies of the night, who were willing to enjoy a more free sex.
That is exactly what happens in this book.
Luckily for the heroine she finds out that her husband is going to cheat on her before he actually cheated, but his attitude is that of a man of the past. He’s angry that his wife is not content with the lifestyle he provides her. Why all that fuss?
He actually wants only some good sex with an open minded woman, he doesn’t really want to end his marriage.
Sadly the heroine doesn’t agree with him and she recognizes that their sex life was a lil bit dull, so she changes into a sex goddess.
His husband, instead of being delighted as any other sane man would, is angry and feels he’s being manipulated.
Yes, those men of the past had such fragile and weak ego that they couldn’t endure to stand equal with their wives! Especially about sex!
There’s a very nasty moment where she sees an almost naked ow in their suite and understands he was really going to cheat on her.
The weak H understands he’s about to lose his wife and goes turncoat denying he was ever going to cheat on her, declaring his everlasting love for her and suddenly turns into the perfect husband and dad.
Believable?
Maybe.
Good sex in a couple won’t be everything but sure is better that bad sex. I know, it’s a truism, but if their problem was bad sex and in 1998 there were not so many therapists specialized in sexual issues, in the end the h and the H solved their issues beautifully.
Moral of the story: if you want to keep your man, keep him satisfied in bed.
Simplistic, but then this is a romantic novel and not a treatise on how to deal with lack of sexual desire in married couples isn’t it.
Interesting reading, too anachronistic to be angsty in my opinion.
December 18, 2011
For me, this book is right there with Ultimate Betrayal. I love the book despite hating the theme and I believe in the HEA despite knowing that it's not quite right.
Seven years of marriage and three children later, our heroine feels like her marriage is falling apart and she's been reading articles trying to figure out ways to fix it. Her hubby hasn't actually turned to her for sex in a while and before that it kept getting more and more sporadic. She feels like she's being put into a box in his life labeled Mother of His Children and that's not where she wants to be. Despite her efforts, her hubby doesn't even seem to notice her.
She had a very repressed childhood where she went to an all girls school run by nuns, and her own parents were very stickler with things you don't talk about or mention. She also has low self esteem and hates her body, even more so since she had her children and got unsightly stretch marks everywhere.
She does love her husband and wants to fight for her marriage. But while she's trying to fight she notices something. Her hubby is changing his plans and she realizes that something is going on with his very beautiful PA. His latest trip away for two weeks is different because he's not only not staying at his usual hotel, he's going to be sharing the suite with his PA. She tries to invite herself along but he doesn't want her there at all. After a blow up about her efforts, she tries her best to let go of her insecurities and give him what he has told her is the problem. Mainly that she makes him do all the work. She thinks that she's made some headway but no matter what it always seems like she's lost. Her hubby assures her that no matter what happens her position as his wife will not change, but that's no assurance at all.
Now for the hero. He feels like he's been put into a box labeled provider for the family. He feels like the heroine doesn't like sex with him and has really only suffered it because it was the way to get the children she wanted and then to keep him happy to ensure her role in his life. He's decided that he's going to go outside of the marriage for sex, and he'll probably start with his PA since she's been giving him plenty of signals that she's all for it. And the start of that is this business trip where he agreed to change his plans on her suggestion to the hotel that she suggested. He knows that this will probably be when he's going to start his affair.
Now his wife is pretending that she wants him and he prides himself on his honesty *eye roll anyone?* and hates the fact that she's trying to placate him in that way. He really doesn't want to believe in the changes she's made and doesn't believe that she really wants him that way.
Despite the fact that he emphatically told her no to the trip, the heroine invited herself along anyway and he had no choice but to bring her along. But while on the trip and her doing her best to not get in his way, he realized that what he had been planning on was dishonest and he wanted this chance with his wife.
Alright, so I understood the motives and wanted these two to work it out. I actually felt that everything was handled so well. You have the wife who knows that he's planning on having an affair. You have the husband who feels that having sex with other women is just something to do because his wife doesn't like it and doesn't want it with him. Everything is going good and the heroine is fighting in her corner and winning until she is actually at the cozy little love nest hotel that the hero and PA were going to conduct their affair in. And that's when the reality of the situation hits her right between the eyes and she can't take it anymore. The man she loved was slime. She fought for their marriage but he just decided on his own thing and went off and did it.
The torment is written really well but the ending is where I have the issues.
The heroine leaves, the hero as we know and as the heroine knows and as he knows had been planning on having an affair, was going to start the affair, basically gave all the right signals to the PA that the affair would start without actually making any promises *so he could always back out later without being held accountable if he so chose* and then he has an epiphany that he wants to try with his wife and he was being dishonest in his actions. He further has an epiphany that having sex with other women was actually giving them a power of him that he didn't want. I think this is the point where he wakes up to the fact that the affairs he's been thinking of having are with real people with real thoughts and not just quickie sex with faceless people to relieve an itch that has no meaning to anyone.
And then the hero tells her that he never had sex with that woman, and actually she was an evil blackmailer. Oh, and he wasn't planning on having sex with her at that hotel, she'd just made it sound nice and that's why he went. *eye roll*
And the heroine agrees with him and they get together and all is good.
And as someone else said and I agree with, we know, he knows and the heroine knows. But everyone is going to write it off because there really was no way that these two could come back with that much truth between them. It was not going to happen. I wanted them to be together and there really was no other way for it to happen.
So I love this book, I couldn't put it down when I first started reading it. This book bugs me also and it's really stuck in my head.
The characters are so well drawn out.
But the thing that I needed to really make this book awesome for me is more hero suffering. More realizing that he destroyed his marriage. One off page week of sending her notes that we don't get to know about. One week of not knowing what was going to happen that was all off page. And one night of him half blaming her and then not being completely honest about what happened isn't enough for me. I really needed him to feel exactly what the heroine felt. Or I needed him to feel worse. I really wanted to be witness to his complete long drawn out fall out.
Sure I wanted them both to have a happy ending, and I did believe in it, but I'm all for suffering when you do something that bad.
Seven years of marriage and three children later, our heroine feels like her marriage is falling apart and she's been reading articles trying to figure out ways to fix it. Her hubby hasn't actually turned to her for sex in a while and before that it kept getting more and more sporadic. She feels like she's being put into a box in his life labeled Mother of His Children and that's not where she wants to be. Despite her efforts, her hubby doesn't even seem to notice her.
She had a very repressed childhood where she went to an all girls school run by nuns, and her own parents were very stickler with things you don't talk about or mention. She also has low self esteem and hates her body, even more so since she had her children and got unsightly stretch marks everywhere.
She does love her husband and wants to fight for her marriage. But while she's trying to fight she notices something. Her hubby is changing his plans and she realizes that something is going on with his very beautiful PA. His latest trip away for two weeks is different because he's not only not staying at his usual hotel, he's going to be sharing the suite with his PA. She tries to invite herself along but he doesn't want her there at all. After a blow up about her efforts, she tries her best to let go of her insecurities and give him what he has told her is the problem. Mainly that she makes him do all the work. She thinks that she's made some headway but no matter what it always seems like she's lost. Her hubby assures her that no matter what happens her position as his wife will not change, but that's no assurance at all.
Now for the hero. He feels like he's been put into a box labeled provider for the family. He feels like the heroine doesn't like sex with him and has really only suffered it because it was the way to get the children she wanted and then to keep him happy to ensure her role in his life. He's decided that he's going to go outside of the marriage for sex, and he'll probably start with his PA since she's been giving him plenty of signals that she's all for it. And the start of that is this business trip where he agreed to change his plans on her suggestion to the hotel that she suggested. He knows that this will probably be when he's going to start his affair.
Now his wife is pretending that she wants him and he prides himself on his honesty *eye roll anyone?* and hates the fact that she's trying to placate him in that way. He really doesn't want to believe in the changes she's made and doesn't believe that she really wants him that way.
Despite the fact that he emphatically told her no to the trip, the heroine invited herself along anyway and he had no choice but to bring her along. But while on the trip and her doing her best to not get in his way, he realized that what he had been planning on was dishonest and he wanted this chance with his wife.
Alright, so I understood the motives and wanted these two to work it out. I actually felt that everything was handled so well. You have the wife who knows that he's planning on having an affair. You have the husband who feels that having sex with other women is just something to do because his wife doesn't like it and doesn't want it with him. Everything is going good and the heroine is fighting in her corner and winning until she is actually at the cozy little love nest hotel that the hero and PA were going to conduct their affair in. And that's when the reality of the situation hits her right between the eyes and she can't take it anymore. The man she loved was slime. She fought for their marriage but he just decided on his own thing and went off and did it.
The torment is written really well but the ending is where I have the issues.
The heroine leaves, the hero as we know and as the heroine knows and as he knows had been planning on having an affair, was going to start the affair, basically gave all the right signals to the PA that the affair would start without actually making any promises *so he could always back out later without being held accountable if he so chose* and then he has an epiphany that he wants to try with his wife and he was being dishonest in his actions. He further has an epiphany that having sex with other women was actually giving them a power of him that he didn't want. I think this is the point where he wakes up to the fact that the affairs he's been thinking of having are with real people with real thoughts and not just quickie sex with faceless people to relieve an itch that has no meaning to anyone.
And then the hero tells her that he never had sex with that woman, and actually she was an evil blackmailer. Oh, and he wasn't planning on having sex with her at that hotel, she'd just made it sound nice and that's why he went. *eye roll*
And the heroine agrees with him and they get together and all is good.
And as someone else said and I agree with, we know, he knows and the heroine knows. But everyone is going to write it off because there really was no way that these two could come back with that much truth between them. It was not going to happen. I wanted them to be together and there really was no other way for it to happen.
So I love this book, I couldn't put it down when I first started reading it. This book bugs me also and it's really stuck in my head.
The characters are so well drawn out.
But the thing that I needed to really make this book awesome for me is more hero suffering. More realizing that he destroyed his marriage. One off page week of sending her notes that we don't get to know about. One week of not knowing what was going to happen that was all off page. And one night of him half blaming her and then not being completely honest about what happened isn't enough for me. I really needed him to feel exactly what the heroine felt. Or I needed him to feel worse. I really wanted to be witness to his complete long drawn out fall out.
Sure I wanted them both to have a happy ending, and I did believe in it, but I'm all for suffering when you do something that bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2020
Reid's selfishness and passivity frustrated me a little. Instead of talking with his younger and less sexually experienced wife, Reid blamed Gina for not meeting his needs. So much so that he contemplated cheating on her. I guess Reid believed Gina should have been able to read his mind in addition to expanding her sexual repertoire. Sounds reasonable, right? LOL
Some people just aren't mature enough to handle themselves well in a relationship. Luckily for Reid, he had an emotionally mature wife who decided to fight for her marriage, not sulk. Gina hadn't been happy either, but I felt she still genuinely loved Reid.
I found Reid's attempt to win Gina back sincere, which made the end satisfying. Both learned in hindsight that it really does take two—and good communication—to make a relationship work.
Read this if one likes a realistic portrayal of a marriage in trouble.
Some people just aren't mature enough to handle themselves well in a relationship. Luckily for Reid, he had an emotionally mature wife who decided to fight for her marriage, not sulk. Gina hadn't been happy either, but I felt she still genuinely loved Reid.
I found Reid's attempt to win Gina back sincere, which made the end satisfying. Both learned in hindsight that it really does take two—and good communication—to make a relationship work.
Read this if one likes a realistic portrayal of a marriage in trouble.
August 25, 2023
I wished the OW's blackmail plot didn't mentioned at all. Always there will be temptation so no need for extra excuses imo. Other than this, it was great and a must read of HPlandia.
July 11, 2011
This was very good emotional read,Reid - Gina have been married for 7 years outside everything is perfect but inside they know nothing is right,their marriage is melting and dying and Gina is being feeling it strongly that Reid is either having an affair or thinking of having it which proves right Reid is thinking of having the affair yet he has not decided with whom but his PA Paige Calder has been giving him signs that she is ready to do anything but Reid has not yet given any signs to her,Gina decides to fight for her marriage and starts making change but Reid's cynical attitude,taunts and comments(which are coming from his first marriage) hurt her humiliate her,Reid thinks Gina is playing games cause she is scared that she will lose her place in his life and tells her again n again stop all this games,what ever other outlet he has planned will be carried out secretly and it will always be in past,but Gina makes it very very clear if he forgets his vows or even thinks of breaking it then Gold help him and give him the warning which stuns him but still he is cynical he thinks it is all out of jealousy but she never gives up,
Gina tries to communicate fight or goad him whatever it takes to understand what her husband is thinking and when it is out she is so shocked and hurt but then she fights and slowly Reid also understands he is losing her and realises he has to make changes as well and meet her half way to make their marriage work,once he realises it he makes the changes these two talk
The issues in marriage was Gina's is shy and has some reservations when it comes show her pleasure to sex and after 3 pregnancies she thinks she looks a little bad,she thinks she should not be overly excited or makes gestures that will make her look like a stripper or W**** and slowly she sheds all her hesitancy and shyness and Reid who has most of attitude and comments coloured from him experience from ex-wife realises his mistakes and also knows that Gina is different and these two talk it all out and we have the HEA
There was no physical cheating nothing-Reid never touched Paige or gave her signals she was trying her best but Reid was only thinking and Gina acted on right time and saved her marriage and i also think most of the time what he said about he will go to another outlet n all was all in anger cause he though Gina was acting all out of jealousy and manipulating him only to secure her place
Liked Gina a lot her strong will to fight and she kept going on though she was hurting so much by the comments,taunts and attitude of her husband towards her still she kept fighting and was successful in saving her marriage
Disliked Reid a lot and i will say the way his marriage has gone 60%was his fault,he knew what was missing yet instead of talking to Gina he thought of another outlet i was really really angry at him cause even thinking of cheating is cheating for me but cause he never did any gestures,kissing or touching and i am willing to forgive him,he was a great son,father to his children and he never wanted to hurt Gina but he did by his actions and words,after it was clear he was thinking about affair my conclusion was he is a bad husband but then on airplane has an epiphany with himself where he is really ashamed of himself and regrets cause he is proud of his integrity and honesty that he has followed upto now in his life and here he was dallying thoughts of making sexual arrangement with Paige cause she has given enough signs encouraging the fact she is more then willing to have fun and then n there he shuts out all this thoughts and starts concentrating on making his marriage successful and work on it and he does'nt wants to lose Gina and he also worked on it and was a good husband by the end of the story
Good emotional intense read
Recommend it
Gina tries to communicate fight or goad him whatever it takes to understand what her husband is thinking and when it is out she is so shocked and hurt but then she fights and slowly Reid also understands he is losing her and realises he has to make changes as well and meet her half way to make their marriage work,once he realises it he makes the changes these two talk
The issues in marriage was Gina's is shy and has some reservations when it comes show her pleasure to sex and after 3 pregnancies she thinks she looks a little bad,she thinks she should not be overly excited or makes gestures that will make her look like a stripper or W**** and slowly she sheds all her hesitancy and shyness and Reid who has most of attitude and comments coloured from him experience from ex-wife realises his mistakes and also knows that Gina is different and these two talk it all out and we have the HEA
There was no physical cheating nothing-Reid never touched Paige or gave her signals she was trying her best but Reid was only thinking and Gina acted on right time and saved her marriage and i also think most of the time what he said about he will go to another outlet n all was all in anger cause he though Gina was acting all out of jealousy and manipulating him only to secure her place
Liked Gina a lot her strong will to fight and she kept going on though she was hurting so much by the comments,taunts and attitude of her husband towards her still she kept fighting and was successful in saving her marriage
Disliked Reid a lot and i will say the way his marriage has gone 60%was his fault,he knew what was missing yet instead of talking to Gina he thought of another outlet i was really really angry at him cause even thinking of cheating is cheating for me but cause he never did any gestures,kissing or touching and i am willing to forgive him,he was a great son,father to his children and he never wanted to hurt Gina but he did by his actions and words,after it was clear he was thinking about affair my conclusion was he is a bad husband but then on airplane has an epiphany with himself where he is really ashamed of himself and regrets cause he is proud of his integrity and honesty that he has followed upto now in his life and here he was dallying thoughts of making sexual arrangement with Paige cause she has given enough signs encouraging the fact she is more then willing to have fun and then n there he shuts out all this thoughts and starts concentrating on making his marriage successful and work on it and he does'nt wants to lose Gina and he also worked on it and was a good husband by the end of the story
Good emotional intense read
Recommend it
November 13, 2011
This is one of my all time favourites published by Harlequin.
It is a brilliant story full of emotion. Gina & Reid are married but with 3 children but he feels neglected and that she only wants him to provide her with babies. Their sex life is predictable and in his opinion she only participates to keep him happy.Although he wants more and wants to be wanted for himself he cannot bring himself to have an affair.
Meanwhile his Personal Assistant has got the hots for him and Gina realises. She truely loves Reid but was brought up in a very staid environment as a child and he was her only sexual partner. Because she loves him she decides to fight for him and try to be more of what she thinks he wants her to be but in true Harlequin style the path to happiness is never quick and easy.
I loved this story and could see both sides but was pleased to see the HEA.
It is a brilliant story full of emotion. Gina & Reid are married but with 3 children but he feels neglected and that she only wants him to provide her with babies. Their sex life is predictable and in his opinion she only participates to keep him happy.Although he wants more and wants to be wanted for himself he cannot bring himself to have an affair.
Meanwhile his Personal Assistant has got the hots for him and Gina realises. She truely loves Reid but was brought up in a very staid environment as a child and he was her only sexual partner. Because she loves him she decides to fight for him and try to be more of what she thinks he wants her to be but in true Harlequin style the path to happiness is never quick and easy.
I loved this story and could see both sides but was pleased to see the HEA.
November 4, 2023
Reread 11/2/2023
I’ve read this several times and always liked that the wife takes back her relationship power, but my god, on this reread it really hit me that the husband is a real lowlife. He is incredibly disrespectful, plans to cheat, justifies it as her fault and is generally a nasty individual—honestly, she could do better.
Reread 5/17/2022
I really should review this at some point. Favorite scene: confrontation in his office, it’s when she balances the power in their relationship.
I’ve read this several times and always liked that the wife takes back her relationship power, but my god, on this reread it really hit me that the husband is a real lowlife. He is incredibly disrespectful, plans to cheat, justifies it as her fault and is generally a nasty individual—honestly, she could do better.
Reread 5/17/2022
I really should review this at some point. Favorite scene: confrontation in his office, it’s when she balances the power in their relationship.
avoid
May 20, 2022Self note avoid
He 100% planned to cheat on the wife with his PA, hotel room booked etc, but doesn’t go through with it, because she catches them. Since he got caught, he fires the PA and has a HEA with the wife.
She forgives instantly. Both blamed the ow.🙄
For me, if he planned to cheat, then he’s a cheater.
He 100% planned to cheat on the wife with his PA, hotel room booked etc, but doesn’t go through with it, because she catches them. Since he got caught, he fires the PA and has a HEA with the wife.
She forgives instantly. Both blamed the ow.🙄
For me, if he planned to cheat, then he’s a cheater.
February 29, 2024
Good angst but he was too passive of a H. I couldn’t figure out if these two ever really wanted to be married to each other or if it just sort of worked out that marriage was brought up when the timing was right for both of them. 🤷🏻♀️
Overall: 2.5
Overall: 2.5
May 2, 2012
I thought this hero was unnecessarily cruel to a woman who was a known virgin from a strict upbringing. Idiot! Is it too much to ask for these guys to communicate-wait, they're men. Never mind.
LOL Low blow, but I am married; so, I can say that in all honesty...MOST men find communicating a struggle.
There's more than a bit of real life in this book, and I appreciated that fact. I have seen women too often get wrapped up in being everything EXCEPT a wife-which should always come first. Yes, even before the kids. Sorry but true.
Of course, NONE of that excuses infidelity. Nothing does. Got the itch? See wife. It really is that simple.
Off of soapbox...a good read with a fair amount of angst.
LOL Low blow, but I am married; so, I can say that in all honesty...MOST men find communicating a struggle.
There's more than a bit of real life in this book, and I appreciated that fact. I have seen women too often get wrapped up in being everything EXCEPT a wife-which should always come first. Yes, even before the kids. Sorry but true.
Of course, NONE of that excuses infidelity. Nothing does. Got the itch? See wife. It really is that simple.
Off of soapbox...a good read with a fair amount of angst.
September 8, 2013
I have seriously put off reading this book forever because I knew based on my friends reviews and the synopsis it would be a difficult book to read and I had to wait until I was in the right mood for it. This book reminded me a lot of The Ultimate Betrayal by Michelle Reid. I can basically copy/paste my review from the other book because they are that similar in setting, range of motions, angst factor,...
If you want to read an angst-fest book about infidelity, you have found the right book. I really did not care much for the male lead or his nonchalant attitude about his impending infidelity. I do believe he had it right though and the ONLY reason his wife forgave him at the end was because she didn't want to lose the material security.
If you want to read an angst-fest book about infidelity, you have found the right book. I really did not care much for the male lead or his nonchalant attitude about his impending infidelity. I do believe he had it right though and the ONLY reason his wife forgave him at the end was because she didn't want to lose the material security.
May 20, 2021
3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK decent reads
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In the end the whole blame fell on the shoulders of evil OW! But throughout history we have followed Zero's thoughts and actions and this has told us another story. Guilty!
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S
P
O
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L
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R
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In the end the whole blame fell on the shoulders of evil OW! But throughout history we have followed Zero's thoughts and actions and this has told us another story. Guilty!
'Familiarity has advantages. It can also become boring. I felt like a change.'
'Do you realise we don't talk about anything except what's happened with the children?'
'There's no point in having two suites.'
'You can relax, Gina,' he assured her with a mocking little smile. 'Our marriage is not under threat. Just as you need me to support the children, I need you to keep my family with me. So you don't have to do anything. Your position as my wife is unassailable.'
'I'm sure you won't mind excusing me from this increasingly distasteful scene. I need a hot shower.'
'That kiss is about as exciting as a wet rag,' Reid hissed.
'Oh, I think some riding lessons could top it off. Not to mention other little services you might do if so inclined. But I don't want to push you too far on your wifely mission to give satisfaction. By all means call a halt now, and I'll quite understand.'
'Sick and sore and sorry for herself, most likely. But not to worry, Patrick. Your mother will be back to her normal self in no time flat.'
Reid had to acknowledge Paige probably felt she had reason to consider herself the front-running candidate for a new experience with him, and the roses would seem to make a hash of that expectation.
'You've- got nothing to worry about. It won't affect your life.'
I'm taking Paige out to lunch, Gina.' It skewered her heart. 'It's her birthday today.' 'Her birthday,' she repeated numbly.
'I would have preferred to be busy with you,' she said, then dropped her tone low enough to keep the words private. 'But that plan fell through since you chose to spend your personal time with your personal assistant.'
'Come on, Gina.' He applied a silky whip with a sting that burned. 'Don't you want to check if Paige Calder left her smell on me?'
Even when he'd been dallying with the idea of making a sexual arrangement with Paige, he would never have given the excuse, 'My wife doesn't understand me.' Nor would he have allowed such an arrangement to impinge on his marriage.
Paige Calder, however, was doing more than that. She was throwing it into the ring. And Reid had stepped into the ring with her by agreeing to this apartment.
For how long had this sort of thing been going on?
What kind of man housed a wife and a mistress—or would-be mistress—under the same roof?
It showed such a lack of respect for her intelligence. A lack of respect for many things Gina held dear. She wasn't sure she could go on with this attempt at a second honeymoon, wasn't sure she wanted to.
Reid was the blind one now if he thought moving Paige Calder to another apartment would gloss over the situation.
July 13, 2020
I Love HP’s take on troubled marriages, their crazy asses always make me feel better. 😊 In Marriage Meltdown, E.D. takes the common marriage challenge of keeping that spark alive after kids, and mixes it up with a broody-asshole hubs, sheltered-prudish wife, and a sneaky-aggressive OW.
Gina has been raised by nuns, rigid parents and clearly has no girlfriends, so she embraces her inner 1950’s Catholic housewife. Reid has accepted this, and is pondering taking on a mistress to slake his carnal needs. Thankfully, Gina stumbles across a magazine article about sprucing things up, but finds Reid is not really on board. Reid’s lust-filled first marriage ended in disaster, so he’d prefer to have a comfortable partnership with devotion to their children, and not trouble Gina with unsavory things like intercourse. To make matters more interesting, Paige his PA has picked up on the marital discord, and is making it totally obvious that she’s down with being the side piece.
I loved Gina; she may have started out as a little uptight prude, but she shed that shell and embraced her inner sex-goddess like a pro. She didn’t lie down and get trampled; she fought for her marriage. Reid starts the book as a mega dick, but eventually sees the light, thankfully before he screws up. All thanks to the tenacious, unsinkable Gina, single handily saving her marriage… which is why women are AWESOME!
My only real complaint is that the “potential transgression” is brushed off as the machinations of the OW who was looking to blackmail him, but we were privy to Reid’s inner dialogue and know that’s not the whole truth. I’m torn because knowing his thoughts about starting a physical affair added to the angsty goodness, but made the brush off not effective. I think he should have fessed up and groveled more, but the book was pushing max page capacity so the author chose the easy explanation.
Bottom Line- The ending felt rushed, and lazy, but I really found this one enjoyable. IMO, Gina not only saved her marriage; she saved the book.
Gina has been raised by nuns, rigid parents and clearly has no girlfriends, so she embraces her inner 1950’s Catholic housewife. Reid has accepted this, and is pondering taking on a mistress to slake his carnal needs. Thankfully, Gina stumbles across a magazine article about sprucing things up, but finds Reid is not really on board. Reid’s lust-filled first marriage ended in disaster, so he’d prefer to have a comfortable partnership with devotion to their children, and not trouble Gina with unsavory things like intercourse. To make matters more interesting, Paige his PA has picked up on the marital discord, and is making it totally obvious that she’s down with being the side piece.
I loved Gina; she may have started out as a little uptight prude, but she shed that shell and embraced her inner sex-goddess like a pro. She didn’t lie down and get trampled; she fought for her marriage. Reid starts the book as a mega dick, but eventually sees the light, thankfully before he screws up. All thanks to the tenacious, unsinkable Gina, single handily saving her marriage… which is why women are AWESOME!
My only real complaint is that the “potential transgression” is brushed off as the machinations of the OW who was looking to blackmail him, but we were privy to Reid’s inner dialogue and know that’s not the whole truth. I’m torn because knowing his thoughts about starting a physical affair added to the angsty goodness, but made the brush off not effective. I think he should have fessed up and groveled more, but the book was pushing max page capacity so the author chose the easy explanation.
Bottom Line- The ending felt rushed, and lazy, but I really found this one enjoyable. IMO, Gina not only saved her marriage; she saved the book.
February 7, 2014
Heroine was pretty brave to face all the facts and do what she had to do. However taking him back after her husband emotionally cheated on her with a slutty PA, is just ridiculous. After all the angst and heart wrenching emotion, I decided if it was me, I would of just killed them both and hid the bodies pretending they ran off together, problem solved.
October 11, 2021
A perfect little old school read. Only 96 pages. Packed with lots of angsty goodness, a groveling hero, and a wholly convincing HEA. Oh, I love me some good marriage in trouble romance<3
Note to Self: must reread down the road
Note to Self: must reread down the road
April 6, 2016
1.5
.5 cause I liked the writing.
You've clicked the spoiler button, right? Right. So proceed.
It's a spoilery rehash ok? Continue...
So many cringe worthy moments I don’t know where to start.
What a dick. Seven years later. Reid older, suave, man of the world is sexually unsatisfied in his marital bed cause his wife has been a bit busy having three of his babies (yep exhausting work that) and rather than talk with Gina about it (cause she was a virgin from a ‘sex is taboo’ background) he’s contemplating an affair with his secretary Paige on a scheduled two week business trip that’s coming up. Gina knows somethings up so she works at seducing her unwilling husband while doing her very best to deflect his cynical barbs and when she turns up at Reids work and he bawls her out telling her he already has a prior lunch commitment with Paige cause its her birthday Gina’s fears are confirmed and she’s right on the money. Reid is indeed testing the waters oh I said that already. Anyway, Gina’s found out about this trip and starts poking at Reid for info but Reid being up to no good, tells her to butt the hell out (oh), if he wants to have an affair (grrrr), it won’t affect her or their children so she needn’t worry, her position in his life is secure (slap yo). Well Gina’s not having it, she ignores Reids guilt tinged ranting and raving about why she can’t possibly go with him and Paige to London cause he’ll be too busy for her, she’ll be in the way, its strictly business, he simply felt like a change of location from his normal lodgings yadayadayada but Gina’s not fooled, she books herself on the same plane.
Gina love, the humiliation you suffered at Reids hands to date would have felled a stronger woman but you kept at it, why I just don’t know cause up to now he’s not worth the paper he’s written on. I want to deck the useless bastard for you but I haven’t figured out how to trash my kindle without causing me major grief and he sure ain’t worth THAT.
And she doesn’t back down, she’s on that plane…go girl *cough* with Reid and Paige and finally Reid, faced with the guilt of his wavering intentions both staring him in the face, he's starting to take a second look at Gina...yeah that’s her, his wife. Anyway the three of them check into this discreet London hideaway (oh the shame) and Gina is faced with the opulent evidence that Reid had seduction on his mind but not with her. To make matters worse Paige insinuates that her and Reid have already done the deed. Gina is devastated. When Reid finally joins his wife and mistress wannabe Reid knows something is up when Gina will barely look at him, won’t talk to him and locks herself in the bathroom. He suspects Paige had words with Gina and instead of asking her outright he pussyfoots round the question and of course doesn’t get a straight answer. Reid tries to talk to Gina through the door but she’s done with the whole sorry mess. Reid’s done with it too and realises what a complete jack ass he’s been, he loves his wife and he fully intends to lose his dick of the year award when he returns to the hotel later that night. Too late. Reid and Paige leave and Gina emerges from the bathroom, packs her grief and determination and she’s gone. Yay!! You go girl. Make the idiot suffer, long and hard.
I love me a good grovel.
A week! What? Ok humour me, fast forward a week.
Reid is sitting in the swankiest restaurant hyperventilating (that’s a good start) praying (ever better) that Gina will show up because she’s ignored him all week and he’s desperate to get her back. Gina does show but she’s got other plans on her mind and not of the everlasting kind (yay). Gina blasts him for all the hurt and anguish he caused, guilt is slapping him round the ears but he takes it all like a man assuring her of his love and continued fidelity while apportioning some of the blame to his ex wife and to Paige (dude don't go there, it takes two ya know and you weren't exactly shouting NO WAY I LOVE MY FUCKING WIFE!). Reid's not finished yet though he dumps some of it on Gina too because she should have been able to read his goddamn mind. Say what? Yo dude! You're the one who's older, you're the one with the abundance of sexual experience so its you who failed your virginal wife when you failed to be honest about your needs. Arse wipe.
Nope. Nowhere near enough grovelling. Do the crime, do the time, one week is a blip. I wanted her to make him work for her forgiveness, make him run, make him sweat cause he sure made her life a humiliating, embarrassing hell. Yep I’m bloodthirsty like that I like to see blood drawn, his was only a bloody trickle. Gah it must be the moon that derailed me cause this just ain't my usual fare.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2012
Reid and Gina married soon after she left college. He has already been through a divorce and he is older than Gina. She was a virgin when they married and he taught her everything she knows. Which to me means that if he wanted something different from his “doll” then he should have programmed it in there before thinking it would never be enough!! I’m thinking Reid read one too many romances! LOL!!
Gina wants more in her marriage and she believes that Reid, the guy that said, “NOTHING WAS IRREPLACEBALE”, may be seeking his joy outside of their marriage. All his talk leads you to believe that he just might be sampling the forbidden as well. Reid enjoys change – but not any that he has to work for – it must come from another source. Maybe he is passive?
Would Reid have cheated at the business get away? I think he would have. If Gina hadn’t shown that she intended to fight for her man thereby letting him know that she truly cares, he would have dropped that zipper quicker than a blink of an eye and never apologized either!!
Reid seemed to blame Gina for not doing more in their marriage despite the fact that he is just as culpable. Okay, frankly he irked me because he didn’t look w/in the marriage more before looking for the easy outer road. He decides Gina is like his ex and treats her accordingly – maybe the common denominator for a failure in two marriages should look in the mirror! If he chooses what he wants, then why didn’t he put more effort into the marriage? He tells Gina to think of their children and act responsibly, I wondered if he thought of them when he was thinking of dipping his wick in another pot.
She girds her loins to seduce him and gets shot down by his cruelty several times!! I think I would have kicked his royal assiness to the curb and hoped that an 18 wheeler runs over him TWICE! Reid even implies that their marriage isn’t salvageable. Then he later states it’s not under threat – well it will be if he goes through w/ what he was contemplating. He wanted Gina to be a vamp in the bedroom and then he apologizes when it gets too animalistic.
A lot of their conversations imply that Reid has already decided to step out on Gina and her last efforts aren’t worth the air it took to utter them. Heck Reid even implies/states that Gina thinks he may turn to the PA for something. Would that be Reid’s thoughts being vocalized? How can this not be on par w/ what his ex-wife did to him?
Reid says Gina is always focused on herself – I guess I am not getting that. I get that he is focused on himself to the exclusion of all others. However, Gina steps out of her comfort zone, inviting his nastiness, to pursue him and let him know that she wants him and he is an ASS. Oh and what she wears supposedly designed for his pleasure is really designed to focus attention on her – what a way to twist things. Isn’t that what the PA does, isn’t that what everyone does? Damned if she does damned if she doesn’t. He tells her that there is nothing more important than his wife actively wanting him, except when it comes to the PA’s birthday. Oh but he doesn’t break promises – except for the possibility of those bothersome little marriage vows. He shoots her down repeatedly w/ his insults and claims, but she doesn’t return the favor she takes it all and comes back for more from him because she is fighting for the survival of their marriage. He even complained about the bed size – couldn’t he roll over and cuddle?
He continuously projects hateful things on to Gina when in the end it is him. He was the one that said something hurtful to the children, not her. However, he suspects that she might have. He is truly selfish and doesn’t want to own anything – dangly syndrome at its best again! Both Reid and Gina are at fault, but of the two I think she is the stronger character because she was willing to fight while he was taking an easy way out.
Reid stated at one point that nobody can change their nature overnight so what is that saying for this potential adulterer? He thinks she was forcing herself to please him, and I think she should be pretty DAMNED pissed that he had been w/holding all those wonderful things from her in the bedroom.
Gina wants more in her marriage and she believes that Reid, the guy that said, “NOTHING WAS IRREPLACEBALE”, may be seeking his joy outside of their marriage. All his talk leads you to believe that he just might be sampling the forbidden as well. Reid enjoys change – but not any that he has to work for – it must come from another source. Maybe he is passive?
Would Reid have cheated at the business get away? I think he would have. If Gina hadn’t shown that she intended to fight for her man thereby letting him know that she truly cares, he would have dropped that zipper quicker than a blink of an eye and never apologized either!!
Reid seemed to blame Gina for not doing more in their marriage despite the fact that he is just as culpable. Okay, frankly he irked me because he didn’t look w/in the marriage more before looking for the easy outer road. He decides Gina is like his ex and treats her accordingly – maybe the common denominator for a failure in two marriages should look in the mirror! If he chooses what he wants, then why didn’t he put more effort into the marriage? He tells Gina to think of their children and act responsibly, I wondered if he thought of them when he was thinking of dipping his wick in another pot.
She girds her loins to seduce him and gets shot down by his cruelty several times!! I think I would have kicked his royal assiness to the curb and hoped that an 18 wheeler runs over him TWICE! Reid even implies that their marriage isn’t salvageable. Then he later states it’s not under threat – well it will be if he goes through w/ what he was contemplating. He wanted Gina to be a vamp in the bedroom and then he apologizes when it gets too animalistic.
A lot of their conversations imply that Reid has already decided to step out on Gina and her last efforts aren’t worth the air it took to utter them. Heck Reid even implies/states that Gina thinks he may turn to the PA for something. Would that be Reid’s thoughts being vocalized? How can this not be on par w/ what his ex-wife did to him?
Reid says Gina is always focused on herself – I guess I am not getting that. I get that he is focused on himself to the exclusion of all others. However, Gina steps out of her comfort zone, inviting his nastiness, to pursue him and let him know that she wants him and he is an ASS. Oh and what she wears supposedly designed for his pleasure is really designed to focus attention on her – what a way to twist things. Isn’t that what the PA does, isn’t that what everyone does? Damned if she does damned if she doesn’t. He tells her that there is nothing more important than his wife actively wanting him, except when it comes to the PA’s birthday. Oh but he doesn’t break promises – except for the possibility of those bothersome little marriage vows. He shoots her down repeatedly w/ his insults and claims, but she doesn’t return the favor she takes it all and comes back for more from him because she is fighting for the survival of their marriage. He even complained about the bed size – couldn’t he roll over and cuddle?
He continuously projects hateful things on to Gina when in the end it is him. He was the one that said something hurtful to the children, not her. However, he suspects that she might have. He is truly selfish and doesn’t want to own anything – dangly syndrome at its best again! Both Reid and Gina are at fault, but of the two I think she is the stronger character because she was willing to fight while he was taking an easy way out.
Reid stated at one point that nobody can change their nature overnight so what is that saying for this potential adulterer? He thinks she was forcing herself to please him, and I think she should be pretty DAMNED pissed that he had been w/holding all those wonderful things from her in the bedroom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2018
Re-read 18/12/2018
I re-read this again recently, wanting to refresh my memory after reading boogenhagen's review.
What I had asserted was certainly the case: Reid started out as a truly hateful H, compartmentalising his wife, Gina (the h) as purely his wife and mother to his children, and him wanting to have his cake (Paige, the OW) and eat it too. He was far too comfortable with the notion that all he wanted was sexual release, justifying that because he couldn't get it from home, he may as well look for it elsewhere, especially when it was offered so willingly.
I felt so much for Gina - the first few chapters in her point of view was deliciously angsty. There were lots and lots of moments where she was trying her darnedest to save her marriage, and trying to go against her very sheltered upbringing in order to do so. It was especially hurtful though, when the H dismissed her attempts at seduction, spoke so negatively about her in front of their children to boot (that was when I really wanted to put a boot up his backside), and compared their marriage to his previous marriage.
Ultimately, their relationship came down to the issue of a lack of intimacy and open communication. It was a major positive in my books to see Reid so changed from the start of the book, and beautifully done too. The only thing I could've wished for more: that his relationship baggage was properly explored, and to be frank, the explanation for Paige left a bit to be desired too . Nevertheless, my re-reading of this book has brought it up from my original score of 3 stars to 5 for the angst, and the wonderful exploration of a marriage in peril.
"I don't like getting the fallout of what some other woman did to you."
I re-read this again recently, wanting to refresh my memory after reading boogenhagen's review.
What I had asserted was certainly the case: Reid started out as a truly hateful H, compartmentalising his wife, Gina (the h) as purely his wife and mother to his children, and him wanting to have his cake (Paige, the OW) and eat it too. He was far too comfortable with the notion that all he wanted was sexual release, justifying that because he couldn't get it from home, he may as well look for it elsewhere, especially when it was offered so willingly.
I felt so much for Gina - the first few chapters in her point of view was deliciously angsty. There were lots and lots of moments where she was trying her darnedest to save her marriage, and trying to go against her very sheltered upbringing in order to do so. It was especially hurtful though, when the H dismissed her attempts at seduction, spoke so negatively about her in front of their children to boot (that was when I really wanted to put a boot up his backside), and compared their marriage to his previous marriage.
Ultimately, their relationship came down to the issue of a lack of intimacy and open communication. It was a major positive in my books to see Reid so changed from the start of the book, and beautifully done too. The only thing I could've wished for more: that his relationship baggage was properly explored, and to be frank, the explanation for Paige left a bit to be desired too . Nevertheless, my re-reading of this book has brought it up from my original score of 3 stars to 5 for the angst, and the wonderful exploration of a marriage in peril.
November 11, 2018
I told myself, that, i won't be subjecting me to triggers. But i did it anyway, because idiot (sigh)
This one is not really that bad, but, I'm reading hp because of the fantasy of having a H ready to save a h in distress (fairy tale, i know, but come on! If i want reality, i will just dive my nose to my neighbors biz), anyway, this H seems real to me, he compartmentalize things, and he do things base on past experience (which is normal) like not asking too much from his wife, when he feels, she isn't giving him things he wants. The h is also real to me, i know a certain someone who likes to stay in safe area, and it isn't because she likes "familiar" or "safe" but she grows up without a guidance for risky decision making and solid support, and i think of her, when I'm reading the h internal struggles. Some people need some push and they need someone to tell them what to do. I guess, that's causes the problem (communication or the lack of it).
I guess i just need to be satisfied with the hea
This one is not really that bad, but, I'm reading hp because of the fantasy of having a H ready to save a h in distress (fairy tale, i know, but come on! If i want reality, i will just dive my nose to my neighbors biz), anyway, this H seems real to me, he compartmentalize things, and he do things base on past experience (which is normal) like not asking too much from his wife, when he feels, she isn't giving him things he wants. The h is also real to me, i know a certain someone who likes to stay in safe area, and it isn't because she likes "familiar" or "safe" but she grows up without a guidance for risky decision making and solid support, and i think of her, when I'm reading the h internal struggles. Some people need some push and they need someone to tell them what to do. I guess, that's causes the problem (communication or the lack of it).
I guess i just need to be satisfied with the hea
December 19, 2020
THIS WAS GLORIOUS!! 90’s Harlequin! 7 yr itch. The H was a grade A ass! The h had finally had enough! She’s like, you don’t like it that I’m not assertive in bed? F U Asshole! I was a V when we married and was raised by my strict catholic Italian mom & nuns! YOU should be teaching ME what to do & what you like in bed! But this Tool is all, don’t worry G, you’ll always be the mom of my kids, so you’re set for life. See, he’s been viewing her as a gold digger because his ex wife was like that. 🙄 The h felt like the H was only wanting a woman to give him kids & care for the house. And the h was like, this is bullshit! She pulled up her big girl panties and rocked his world that night. But he thought it was temporary because she suspected his PA was sniffing around him. He thought about cheating but that’s as far as it got...except he & PA had a business trip so the h said Oh Hell No! I’m going too! 😤 H starts to realize that his wife is da bomb but the PA says to the h, Ooh, I like working UNDER your husband. 😐 H is all hot for his wife now but she leaves for a week to get a grip & the H freaks. Blah blah, they talk it out, sex it up, and HEA prevails!
I didn’t give it 5 stars because the story was a bit uneven or choppy at times. Not much grovel but we did get what the H was thinking and he WAS flipping out thinking the h was done with him. 😏 💝
I didn’t give it 5 stars because the story was a bit uneven or choppy at times. Not much grovel but we did get what the H was thinking and he WAS flipping out thinking the h was done with him. 😏 💝
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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