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Lost in Love
Someplace between heaven and hell...
Four years ago, Guy Frabosa had hurt Marnie so deeply that she vowed never to set eyes on him again and had divorced him in a blaze of pain and anger. He fought her, but she'd had a trump card and had been desperate enough to use it.
Now Guy held all the cards--Marnie needed his financial help and had little choice but to play by her ex-husband's rules. He demanded her body and soul, but the thought of returning to his side as his wife filled her with a raging hatred---made all the more consuming by her utterly wanton desire for his lovemaking
Four years ago, Guy Frabosa had hurt Marnie so deeply that she vowed never to set eyes on him again and had divorced him in a blaze of pain and anger. He fought her, but she'd had a trump card and had been desperate enough to use it.
Now Guy held all the cards--Marnie needed his financial help and had little choice but to play by her ex-husband's rules. He demanded her body and soul, but the thought of returning to his side as his wife filled her with a raging hatred---made all the more consuming by her utterly wanton desire for his lovemaking
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
109 people are currently reading
733 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Reid
388 books638 followersHi, my name is Michelle Reid and I’ve been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
November 10, 2015
2 Annoying as Fuck Stars
As my review title states, this book annoyed me on several levels.
Level One: Sub Par Groveling
This book was recommended to me via a "books that have groveling" thread when I was on the hunt for a book that...you guessed it:
Gave good grovel.
I now realize that "good grovel" is a completely subjective...phenomena; and, while some might find the grovel delivered in this book to be satisfactory, I myself prefer my begging to be hoarser and my knees to be bloodier.
The only grovel in this book that fit what I was looking for took up less than a page and took place via flashback.
In other words?
Level Two: Doormat Damsel
If you know me, you know I love a good "Damsel in Distress."
However, "damsel" and "doormat" are not synonymous.
And homie don't like the second one.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for helping family and friends in need...to a point.
But when that individual is the same broke ass cousin or perpetually irresponsible friend who continuously fails to manage their own train wreck of a life without constant help?
I get that the author had to give Marnie a "reason" to be indebted to to Guy, but still.
Proving once again that:
Level Three: "The Big Miscommunication"
There is no other plot I loathe more than this one.
When an entire book is based on a conflict that could have been solved in a simple 20 minute conversation?
Tres frustrating.
And being that it was plainly obvious that such was the case early on in this book?
Tres frustrating times two.
I mean these two suffered for four years because they failed to simply TALK TO EACH OTHER.
And with that, I'm out.
As my review title states, this book annoyed me on several levels.
Level One: Sub Par Groveling
This book was recommended to me via a "books that have groveling" thread when I was on the hunt for a book that...you guessed it:
Gave good grovel.
I now realize that "good grovel" is a completely subjective...phenomena; and, while some might find the grovel delivered in this book to be satisfactory, I myself prefer my begging to be hoarser and my knees to be bloodier.
The only grovel in this book that fit what I was looking for took up less than a page and took place via flashback.
In other words?
Level Two: Doormat Damsel
If you know me, you know I love a good "Damsel in Distress."
However, "damsel" and "doormat" are not synonymous.
And homie don't like the second one.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for helping family and friends in need...to a point.
But when that individual is the same broke ass cousin or perpetually irresponsible friend who continuously fails to manage their own train wreck of a life without constant help?
I get that the author had to give Marnie a "reason" to be indebted to to Guy, but still.
Proving once again that:
Level Three: "The Big Miscommunication"
There is no other plot I loathe more than this one.
When an entire book is based on a conflict that could have been solved in a simple 20 minute conversation?
Tres frustrating.
And being that it was plainly obvious that such was the case early on in this book?
Tres frustrating times two.
I mean these two suffered for four years because they failed to simply TALK TO EACH OTHER.
And with that, I'm out.
May 1, 2018
Re Lost In Love - Michelle Reid's sixth HPlandia outing is a reconciliation story. Out of all the best-selling and most popular HP author's, MR probably has one of the smallest backlists, however why she is a top tier name is ably demonstrated by this book.
The trope she uses is not new to HPlandia and there are at least a few hundred attempts at it scattered all through the Annals of HPness, but MR has a talent for seriously intense character interactions and a style of writing that leads to a pretty solid HEA.
This book starts with Marnie, a 25 yr old divorced artist, confronting her older brother. Her brother needs her to hit up her ex-husband, Guy (pronounced like ghee,) as a really pricey car he was restoring for a customer got totaled before it could be delivered and Marnie's brother's fragile and pregnant wife, who miscarried a baby a few months before, forgot to renew the insurance.
Marnie pitches a fit, as you do when your only relative wants to pimp you out to your cheatin' toe rag, pimple pus , rat sniffer ex-husband. But she eventually agrees to hit Guy up for the money. After calling around and intimidating Guy's employees, Marnie finds out Guy is in Scotland. So it is off to catch the shuttle flight we go.
While we are waiting, we learn that Marnie was a sweet little 19 year old who stopped by her brother's work one day to see him. Since her brother worked as a mechanic for Guy, who was a famous Formula one Italian racer, she winds up meeting Guy too and then spending time with him when he messed up her car so she couldn't leave his estate.
The two of them as a couple are very passionate, in all sorts of ways. Marnie had fallen in love with Guy, but she figured he would be moving on to a new model soon enough and so she never mentioned it.
Marnie also did NOT approve of Guy's antics, or his lifestyle, or his friends, or his vast, vast lady buffet experience that has him believing that all the ladies should be worshiping at his feet. But then the old Treacherous Body Syndrome came into play and Marnie just could not resist the intense rapacity of Guy's Lurve Force Mojo.
Overwhelmed and outflanked, Marnie finds herself married to Guy and wondering what the heck just happened. Guy liked being married, he could have Marnie any time he wanted. But he had issues too. The main one happens to be that he feels like a despoiler and debaucher of innocent, unicorn petting maidens and the unicorns are really angry at him.
Guy also knows he is an arrogant rat sniffer and he knows that Marnie hates his life, his friends and his arrogance. Somehow, Marnie is not succumbing to his fateful charm and it makes him feel old and horribly insecure. Especially when Marnie takes exception to his friend's wild parties and his friend's propositioning her and then tells Guy that she has better things to do than' sleep with an aging old stallion who sees his mission in life as putting himself out for stud.'
So Guy may be all things donkey butt HP Alpha, but Marnie is more than capable of putting him into his place. Marnie has another passion too, and this drives Guy nuts because he wants everything all the time to be all about him.
Marnie is an artist, apparently a very good one. So when Guy gets all full of himself and starts making comments about how inadequate Marnie is and maybe some other woman will be better at putting out when she won't, Marnie takes herself off to paint and she channels her passion into her art.
This makes Guy even more insecure and he parties harder and Marnie withdraws more into her art. Eventually the fighting gets so bad that Guy leaves Marnie and goes out for a night. When he stumbles in the next morning, Marnie assumes he has been with another woman and the pot really starts to boil.
Guy dumps Marnie on his estate with his delightful and very nice dad and then he goes off to drink and party. Marnie makes a big discovery and tracks Guy down, her brother happened to know that Guy was at party at the friend's house - this is the same guy that propositioned Marnie pretty crudely and she totally shot him down.
So it is with a certain amount of malice that Guy's friend sends Marnie upstairs to a drunken Guy. Marnie opens the door and finds Guy in bed with his former mistress and Marnie is done. She has verifiable proof that Guy really is a cheatin' snot gulper rat sniffer and she is out of there.
Marnie runs off for six months to hide and upon her return she files for divorce. Guy tries to fight it, but Marnie threatened world-wide paparazzi coverage of adultery and disgrace and Guy won't put his father through that. So Marnie gets her divorce and sets herself up in a studio and continues to paint.
Guy won't let her cut him out of her life tho, he wants his wife back and blames her brother for the demise of their marriage. (Guy knows full well he is an idiot to say this, but pretending to be irked at Marnie's brother means that Marnie is the one who has to come to Guy for help when her brother needs it, so Guy gets to stay in Marnie's life and continue to try and get her back.)
Marnie, for her part, still believes he is out there sampling the lady buffet and Marnie isn't down with that. Guy doesn't answer the charge either way, he tells Marnie that if she was at his side as she is supposed to be, then OW wouldn't be an issue.
(To be fair, we never see Guy actually with another woman after the divorce and Marnie doesn't cite a specific instance of OW being present either. Marnie assumes he is based on gossip mags, rumors, and her own personal knowledge of Guy's Lurve Mojo Drive.
But it is entirely possible and very probable that Guy really wasn't with any OW, he wears a full hair shirt of guilt of his own and I found his celibacy to be very believable - even tho MR doesn't spell that out. She does go out her way to suggest it between the lines and that is meant to be a reader compliment, MR is one of the few HP writers that expects her readers to figure out things without being hit over the head with them.)
So Guy's price for helping Marnie's brother is remarriage. Marnie, who is downright frantic at the thought of her fragile and newly pregnant sister in law having another miscarriage, agrees to be Guy's wife again.
Tho she isn't really expecting a different outcome than the last time and when Guy starts making all sorts of ludicrous demands and insists that she give up her painting commissions, Marnie has another fit.
However, Guy wins cause he moved her brother and his wife back onto his estate and then he sent them off on vacation. He and Marnie remarry after a tense reunion with his father and Guy's father breaks the news that Guy was the victim of his ex-mistress's spite.
With the collaboration of Guy's former friend, who put a seriously drunk and passed out Guy into bed and left him, the ex-mistress jumped into Guy's borrowed bed and pretended they were having a thing when Marnie showed up looking for him.
Marnie feels very bad that she misjudged Guy so harshly, but Guy says it doesn't matter. Whether or not he was drunk, he was still in bed with another woman and so Marnie had a very valid reason for her anger and betrayed feelings - Guy also admits that he would have believed what he saw too, if the situation had been reversed. However, they are all moving on now and Guy never plans to be apart from Marnie, so any further traveling the two of them do will always be together.
Finally Marnie and Guy have their big passion purple boudoir moment and in the aftermath Guy asks Marnie what happened to her pregnancy. We find out that the reason Marnie went to London was because she found she was having a baby and then after seeing the Guy situation, she fell and miscarried and spent six months locked in grief and mourning.
Guy has been rightly blaming himself for causing Marnie such distress. He knew she was preggers before she did, but he thought she also knew and that she was withholding the information from him because she was trying to decide what to do about it.
Guy knew he loved Marnie from the moment they met, but he also knew that Marnie was only with him because of Treacherous Body Syndrome and he was very afraid that the Lurve Force Mojo would expire on Marnie's side of things.
So to protect himself, he acted like a big old donkey butt and Marnie wound up dumping his hiney anyway - but not before he realized that she loved him as much as he loved her and if he hadn't been being a slime swilling rat sniffer, the whole sad situation could have been avoided.
So Guy has been doing penance for the last four years, (which is another argument for his celibacy,) but now the whole situation has been aired out and Guy confesses he really does love Marnie, so hopefully they can build a better marriage this time around.
The next morning after the big confession, Marnie wakes up to hear Guy racing his car on his private racetrack around the estate. Marnie also hears the wreck that Guy gets into and goes haring off barefoot through the hedge, cause she thinks Guy is dead and she never confessed her love back.
Fortunately, Guy is just a little banged up and he gets a little more banged up when Marnie beats him up for terrifying her. It starts to rain and the two of them have a huge emotional declaration of true love forever moment. We leave the two of them at last secure in each other's love and planing on a bath and bed for two out of the rain for the big, pink sparkly and highly believable MR HEA.
This one is an excellently written and paced book. MR does what few HP author's manage to do. Through the skillful evocation of a tone and mood, she manages to convince this very cynically hardened HPlandia veteran that Guy really is a decent man in the end and more importantly, she manages to convey a real reconciliation and believable HEA.
Interestingly, she doesn't even really get detailed about the big break up or miscarriage confrontation scenes. Instead MR relies on conveying the detailed nuances of Marnie's feelings and emotions. Through that vehicle, MR not only convinces Marnie to give Guy another change, she convinces the reader too and that makes this story one of the great HPlandia outings.
The trope she uses is not new to HPlandia and there are at least a few hundred attempts at it scattered all through the Annals of HPness, but MR has a talent for seriously intense character interactions and a style of writing that leads to a pretty solid HEA.
This book starts with Marnie, a 25 yr old divorced artist, confronting her older brother. Her brother needs her to hit up her ex-husband, Guy (pronounced like ghee,) as a really pricey car he was restoring for a customer got totaled before it could be delivered and Marnie's brother's fragile and pregnant wife, who miscarried a baby a few months before, forgot to renew the insurance.
Marnie pitches a fit, as you do when your only relative wants to pimp you out to your cheatin' toe rag, pimple pus , rat sniffer ex-husband. But she eventually agrees to hit Guy up for the money. After calling around and intimidating Guy's employees, Marnie finds out Guy is in Scotland. So it is off to catch the shuttle flight we go.
While we are waiting, we learn that Marnie was a sweet little 19 year old who stopped by her brother's work one day to see him. Since her brother worked as a mechanic for Guy, who was a famous Formula one Italian racer, she winds up meeting Guy too and then spending time with him when he messed up her car so she couldn't leave his estate.
The two of them as a couple are very passionate, in all sorts of ways. Marnie had fallen in love with Guy, but she figured he would be moving on to a new model soon enough and so she never mentioned it.
Marnie also did NOT approve of Guy's antics, or his lifestyle, or his friends, or his vast, vast lady buffet experience that has him believing that all the ladies should be worshiping at his feet. But then the old Treacherous Body Syndrome came into play and Marnie just could not resist the intense rapacity of Guy's Lurve Force Mojo.
Overwhelmed and outflanked, Marnie finds herself married to Guy and wondering what the heck just happened. Guy liked being married, he could have Marnie any time he wanted. But he had issues too. The main one happens to be that he feels like a despoiler and debaucher of innocent, unicorn petting maidens and the unicorns are really angry at him.
Guy also knows he is an arrogant rat sniffer and he knows that Marnie hates his life, his friends and his arrogance. Somehow, Marnie is not succumbing to his fateful charm and it makes him feel old and horribly insecure. Especially when Marnie takes exception to his friend's wild parties and his friend's propositioning her and then tells Guy that she has better things to do than' sleep with an aging old stallion who sees his mission in life as putting himself out for stud.'
So Guy may be all things donkey butt HP Alpha, but Marnie is more than capable of putting him into his place. Marnie has another passion too, and this drives Guy nuts because he wants everything all the time to be all about him.
Marnie is an artist, apparently a very good one. So when Guy gets all full of himself and starts making comments about how inadequate Marnie is and maybe some other woman will be better at putting out when she won't, Marnie takes herself off to paint and she channels her passion into her art.
This makes Guy even more insecure and he parties harder and Marnie withdraws more into her art. Eventually the fighting gets so bad that Guy leaves Marnie and goes out for a night. When he stumbles in the next morning, Marnie assumes he has been with another woman and the pot really starts to boil.
Guy dumps Marnie on his estate with his delightful and very nice dad and then he goes off to drink and party. Marnie makes a big discovery and tracks Guy down, her brother happened to know that Guy was at party at the friend's house - this is the same guy that propositioned Marnie pretty crudely and she totally shot him down.
So it is with a certain amount of malice that Guy's friend sends Marnie upstairs to a drunken Guy. Marnie opens the door and finds Guy in bed with his former mistress and Marnie is done. She has verifiable proof that Guy really is a cheatin' snot gulper rat sniffer and she is out of there.
Marnie runs off for six months to hide and upon her return she files for divorce. Guy tries to fight it, but Marnie threatened world-wide paparazzi coverage of adultery and disgrace and Guy won't put his father through that. So Marnie gets her divorce and sets herself up in a studio and continues to paint.
Guy won't let her cut him out of her life tho, he wants his wife back and blames her brother for the demise of their marriage. (Guy knows full well he is an idiot to say this, but pretending to be irked at Marnie's brother means that Marnie is the one who has to come to Guy for help when her brother needs it, so Guy gets to stay in Marnie's life and continue to try and get her back.)
Marnie, for her part, still believes he is out there sampling the lady buffet and Marnie isn't down with that. Guy doesn't answer the charge either way, he tells Marnie that if she was at his side as she is supposed to be, then OW wouldn't be an issue.
(To be fair, we never see Guy actually with another woman after the divorce and Marnie doesn't cite a specific instance of OW being present either. Marnie assumes he is based on gossip mags, rumors, and her own personal knowledge of Guy's Lurve Mojo Drive.
But it is entirely possible and very probable that Guy really wasn't with any OW, he wears a full hair shirt of guilt of his own and I found his celibacy to be very believable - even tho MR doesn't spell that out. She does go out her way to suggest it between the lines and that is meant to be a reader compliment, MR is one of the few HP writers that expects her readers to figure out things without being hit over the head with them.)
So Guy's price for helping Marnie's brother is remarriage. Marnie, who is downright frantic at the thought of her fragile and newly pregnant sister in law having another miscarriage, agrees to be Guy's wife again.
Tho she isn't really expecting a different outcome than the last time and when Guy starts making all sorts of ludicrous demands and insists that she give up her painting commissions, Marnie has another fit.
However, Guy wins cause he moved her brother and his wife back onto his estate and then he sent them off on vacation. He and Marnie remarry after a tense reunion with his father and Guy's father breaks the news that Guy was the victim of his ex-mistress's spite.
With the collaboration of Guy's former friend, who put a seriously drunk and passed out Guy into bed and left him, the ex-mistress jumped into Guy's borrowed bed and pretended they were having a thing when Marnie showed up looking for him.
Marnie feels very bad that she misjudged Guy so harshly, but Guy says it doesn't matter. Whether or not he was drunk, he was still in bed with another woman and so Marnie had a very valid reason for her anger and betrayed feelings - Guy also admits that he would have believed what he saw too, if the situation had been reversed. However, they are all moving on now and Guy never plans to be apart from Marnie, so any further traveling the two of them do will always be together.
Finally Marnie and Guy have their big passion purple boudoir moment and in the aftermath Guy asks Marnie what happened to her pregnancy. We find out that the reason Marnie went to London was because she found she was having a baby and then after seeing the Guy situation, she fell and miscarried and spent six months locked in grief and mourning.
Guy has been rightly blaming himself for causing Marnie such distress. He knew she was preggers before she did, but he thought she also knew and that she was withholding the information from him because she was trying to decide what to do about it.
Guy knew he loved Marnie from the moment they met, but he also knew that Marnie was only with him because of Treacherous Body Syndrome and he was very afraid that the Lurve Force Mojo would expire on Marnie's side of things.
So to protect himself, he acted like a big old donkey butt and Marnie wound up dumping his hiney anyway - but not before he realized that she loved him as much as he loved her and if he hadn't been being a slime swilling rat sniffer, the whole sad situation could have been avoided.
So Guy has been doing penance for the last four years, (which is another argument for his celibacy,) but now the whole situation has been aired out and Guy confesses he really does love Marnie, so hopefully they can build a better marriage this time around.
The next morning after the big confession, Marnie wakes up to hear Guy racing his car on his private racetrack around the estate. Marnie also hears the wreck that Guy gets into and goes haring off barefoot through the hedge, cause she thinks Guy is dead and she never confessed her love back.
Fortunately, Guy is just a little banged up and he gets a little more banged up when Marnie beats him up for terrifying her. It starts to rain and the two of them have a huge emotional declaration of true love forever moment. We leave the two of them at last secure in each other's love and planing on a bath and bed for two out of the rain for the big, pink sparkly and highly believable MR HEA.
This one is an excellently written and paced book. MR does what few HP author's manage to do. Through the skillful evocation of a tone and mood, she manages to convince this very cynically hardened HPlandia veteran that Guy really is a decent man in the end and more importantly, she manages to convey a real reconciliation and believable HEA.
Interestingly, she doesn't even really get detailed about the big break up or miscarriage confrontation scenes. Instead MR relies on conveying the detailed nuances of Marnie's feelings and emotions. Through that vehicle, MR not only convinces Marnie to give Guy another change, she convinces the reader too and that makes this story one of the great HPlandia outings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2024
A well-executed, blackmailed-into-remarriage-to-pay-family-member's-debt story. The protagonists had great chemistry together. It was a fun read.
April 16, 2022
First review
September 19, 2020
I think this book would have been perfect only if it had had an epilogue with their cute baby/babies :) but 5 🌟 anyway
However it emotioned me A LOT!
Updated
April 11/2022
I have been rereading some of my favorites Harlequins lately, this is the one I'm reading at the moment and I have to say, from the bottom of my heart... that maybe... perhaps... I will low my "long time-official" rating. I won't rate it very low, but at least 4 stars :(
The very first time I read this book it was in Spanish (my mother tongue), and through out the years when I started reading the English versions of books, I realized that some of them are a little bit edited or the publichers omitted certain words, phrases... that could change the perception of an scene, or the reader's point of view about the main characters.
Reread
April 13/2022
I have to post some comments and important quotes here... After reading this book in English, I think.... That maybe he was celibate or unclear 🤔🙉 there are a some possibilities about it. I have to organize a new review, I highlighted the paragraphs with the "key" information 😅
September 19, 2020
I think this book would have been perfect only if it had had an epilogue with their cute baby/babies :) but 5 🌟 anyway
However it emotioned me A LOT!
Updated
April 11/2022
I have been rereading some of my favorites Harlequins lately, this is the one I'm reading at the moment and I have to say, from the bottom of my heart... that maybe... perhaps... I will low my "long time-official" rating. I won't rate it very low, but at least 4 stars :(
The very first time I read this book it was in Spanish (my mother tongue), and through out the years when I started reading the English versions of books, I realized that some of them are a little bit edited or the publichers omitted certain words, phrases... that could change the perception of an scene, or the reader's point of view about the main characters.
Reread
April 13/2022
I have to post some comments and important quotes here... After reading this book in English, I think.... That maybe he was celibate or unclear 🤔🙉 there are a some possibilities about it. I have to organize a new review, I highlighted the paragraphs with the "key" information 😅
July 25, 2012
Oh WOW., WOW, WOW......This one is a keeper, and one of Michelle Reid's finest work. This is a story about second chances, reconciliation and most of all forgiveness. Guy Fabrioso is a wonderful hero who willingly accepts his past mistakes and will do anything to reconcile with his ex-wife, Marnie. What I found so incredible, were all the references to his commitment to Marnie. The author left no confusion on the part of the reader as to how much he truly loved his wife. He had every right to become embittered, but he chose to rise above it all for the sake of their love.
I highly recommend this one. I was so invested in their story, I could not put it down.
I highly recommend this one. I was so invested in their story, I could not put it down.
December 15, 2025
I got it for the angst and angst is what I got~
[⊱ Tropes ⊰]
・
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[⊱ Tropes ⊰]
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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February 27, 2015
Guy is 15 yrs old than Marnie, she divorces him after catching him in bed with another woman at a party (he's drunk and was set up). 4 yrs later he forces her to remarry him (she needs $ for her brother).
Things I liked: really great depictions of Guy's devotion, his pain at her pain, through out book. Great scene of her showing her love when she thinks he's hurt at the end. Much more powerful than the declarations of love in most other books. Liked Guy's father's love for Marnie too.
Things I hated: his dictator-like pronouncement that she would give up an important part of her career (commissions). I like an alpha guy but too much. Very paternalistic and made age difference seem creepy. Also didn't like that he gave her clothes away rather than shipping to her (not consistent with his feelings for her and knowing he was in the wrong). And just wacky that he blamed her brother for telling her what party he was at when it was his so-called friends that set him up.
But most of all, it seems that during the 4 year estrangement, he was with other women. I had heard this described as a celibate hero book and went back to look for signs of celibacy...when Marnie says if the 4 years of estrangement were counted he'd have committed adultery a dozen times over (or 4 dozen), Guy says: "That is for me to know and you to wonder about! A wife's place is at her husband's side, warming his bed and keeping his body content! Your desertion of those duties leaves you with no right to question how I quenched my needs, and nor ever will it in the future!" But although he was drunk when he cheated with Anthea, I don't recall seeing him confirm no other women since. It ruined the book for me that he went to other women. normally divorce status would mean to me it wasn't cheating, but here i feel that would be getting off on a technicality...he could have swallowed his pride and gotten the truth to her in say, 6 months when she had cooled down. Or written to her. They were in contact still, he is keeping the misunderstanding alive. So even though they were divorced, if he still loved her and was planning to have her back as his wife, and as he says he still considered her his wife, it really cuts into the love he's supposed to feel for her to let her stew in pain ( and he admits that he knows that he destroyed her, while he goes off for a second sowing of oats free period with other women). So if anyone has evidence of celibacy, I'd love to hear the quote!
Things I liked: really great depictions of Guy's devotion, his pain at her pain, through out book. Great scene of her showing her love when she thinks he's hurt at the end. Much more powerful than the declarations of love in most other books. Liked Guy's father's love for Marnie too.
Things I hated: his dictator-like pronouncement that she would give up an important part of her career (commissions). I like an alpha guy but too much. Very paternalistic and made age difference seem creepy. Also didn't like that he gave her clothes away rather than shipping to her (not consistent with his feelings for her and knowing he was in the wrong). And just wacky that he blamed her brother for telling her what party he was at when it was his so-called friends that set him up.
But most of all, it seems that during the 4 year estrangement, he was with other women. I had heard this described as a celibate hero book and went back to look for signs of celibacy...when Marnie says if the 4 years of estrangement were counted he'd have committed adultery a dozen times over (or 4 dozen), Guy says: "That is for me to know and you to wonder about! A wife's place is at her husband's side, warming his bed and keeping his body content! Your desertion of those duties leaves you with no right to question how I quenched my needs, and nor ever will it in the future!" But although he was drunk when he cheated with Anthea, I don't recall seeing him confirm no other women since. It ruined the book for me that he went to other women. normally divorce status would mean to me it wasn't cheating, but here i feel that would be getting off on a technicality...he could have swallowed his pride and gotten the truth to her in say, 6 months when she had cooled down. Or written to her. They were in contact still, he is keeping the misunderstanding alive. So even though they were divorced, if he still loved her and was planning to have her back as his wife, and as he says he still considered her his wife, it really cuts into the love he's supposed to feel for her to let her stew in pain ( and he admits that he knows that he destroyed her, while he goes off for a second sowing of oats free period with other women). So if anyone has evidence of celibacy, I'd love to hear the quote!
March 19, 2013
I just couldn't warm up to the male lead character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2020
I enjoyed this overall, but found Guy's martyrdom a little frustrating. (I know there'd be no story without it, but still.) He didn't fight hard enough previously to save his marriage considering the circumstances, but instead gave in to Marnie's demand for a divorce out of a misguided sense of nobility and penitence.
All this self sacrifice made me want to knock some sense into the guy! ;) Sacrificing one's happiness only ever leads to more unhappiness, as was the case in this situation.
All this self sacrifice made me want to knock some sense into the guy! ;) Sacrificing one's happiness only ever leads to more unhappiness, as was the case in this situation.
September 7, 2012
Enjoyed this book with a few caveats. It was well written and I loved how the hero was determined not to give up on their marriage and how he accepted blame for his mistakes. Here's a thing I wonder constantly in HP books. The hero is seducing the reluctant heroine and she's all I don't want you. And of course she is trembling and kissing him back and has not will power to resist him and he says of course you want me, your trembling body and pointy nipples tells me so. Why does she never say 'my body might want you but my mind does not'. It seems to me that would give her some sort of credibility and plausible denial. She never does though. Here's my caveats: Minor stuff really and didn't take away much from the story. I liked it.
March 28, 2017
Second chance May/December story. Formula One driver turned businessman hero is caught in bed with a naked woman by the artist h four years before. They divorce. Now they're back together after heroine's brother needs money.
The hero's age and lifestyle of going to "sophisticated" parties was also a factor in their break-up. This heroine held on to her bitterness for four years - just as the hero did in Gold Ring of Betrayal. In this story, it was the hero who was set up as a practical joke, and it's interesting how that doesn't give him the get out of cheating jail free card. Comparing and contrasting Gold Ring and Lost in Love, MR seems to imply that a woman is more vulnerable in a party situation and it's understandable how she can be taken advantage of quite easily. A guy - not as much. The hero seems to think this and feels guilty for causing the h so much pain by going to these parties without the h. He also thinks he , and this separation has been his "penance." A very different tone from Gold Ring of Betrayal.
I didn't like the hero or the story all that much until the last third where the H/h begin to talk and reconcile. I liked the hero's father and how kind he was to the h. I was glad the feckless brother was shuttled off-page. He was ridiculous.
The final scene is really lovely and shows the depth of the hero's love for the h (however misguided he was in showing it and hanging on to his guilt.) That scene lifted my rating a star.
The hero's age and lifestyle of going to "sophisticated" parties was also a factor in their break-up. This heroine held on to her bitterness for four years - just as the hero did in Gold Ring of Betrayal. In this story, it was the hero who was set up as a practical joke, and it's interesting how that doesn't give him the get out of cheating jail free card. Comparing and contrasting Gold Ring and Lost in Love, MR seems to imply that a woman is more vulnerable in a party situation and it's understandable how she can be taken advantage of quite easily. A guy - not as much. The hero seems to think this and feels guilty for causing the h so much pain by going to these parties without the h. He also thinks he , and this separation has been his "penance." A very different tone from Gold Ring of Betrayal.
I didn't like the hero or the story all that much until the last third where the H/h begin to talk and reconcile. I liked the hero's father and how kind he was to the h. I was glad the feckless brother was shuttled off-page. He was ridiculous.
The final scene is really lovely and shows the depth of the hero's love for the h (however misguided he was in showing it and hanging on to his guilt.) That scene lifted my rating a star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2020
I can't do justice to this second chance romance between two proud, defensive protagonists who couldn't make themselves vulnerable to each other the first time around. It's emotional, dramatic, romantic, glamorous...everything I read HP for.
However, I don't for one moment believe he was celibate during their estrangement, and that tarnishes the whole experience for me.
Technically, the hero didn't owe the heroine celibacy. They were divorced at her instigation (as in The Mistress Wife, which I also just re-read). While I don't agree with the chauvinism of the hero's declaration that "A wife's place is at her husband's side, warming his bed and keeping his body content! Your desertion of those duties leaves you with no right to question how I quenched my needs," I do agree with the sentiment that uncoupled spouses are free to do whatever they please.
Except...
Reid makes a huge point that the hero regarded the divorce as a temporary thing. He continued to pursue a reconciliation with the heroine throughout their estrangement, convinced that one day she would forgive him and they would resume their marriage.
I have a hard time slotting other women into this portrayal of remorseful devotion. Every single time I read this book, I anticipate a confession of celibacy at the end when he's clearing up the various jealous misunderstandings that contributed to the demise of their first marriage. Because fidelity and trust had been so undermined, I expect him to reassure his wife that he regarded them as married during the 4-year estrangement and behaved accordingly. But he doesn't, because he didn't. And if he can't remain true to his love for her when he was continually pursuing a reconciliation, then why should I believe he'd remain faithful to his vows if anything cropped up in the future to interrupt their married sex life (like pregnancy and recovery, or a lengthy separation to deal with a family emergency concerning her beloved sister-in-law)?
There's no math involved in this rating. It's a very good book, perhaps the pinnacle of blackmailed-back-into-marriage romances. 4 stars. But like so many Michelle Reid romances, I'm left shaken by the discrepancies and not fully satisfied at the end.
However, I don't for one moment believe he was celibate during their estrangement, and that tarnishes the whole experience for me.
Technically, the hero didn't owe the heroine celibacy. They were divorced at her instigation (as in The Mistress Wife, which I also just re-read). While I don't agree with the chauvinism of the hero's declaration that "A wife's place is at her husband's side, warming his bed and keeping his body content! Your desertion of those duties leaves you with no right to question how I quenched my needs," I do agree with the sentiment that uncoupled spouses are free to do whatever they please.
Except...
Reid makes a huge point that the hero regarded the divorce as a temporary thing. He continued to pursue a reconciliation with the heroine throughout their estrangement, convinced that one day she would forgive him and they would resume their marriage.
I have a hard time slotting other women into this portrayal of remorseful devotion. Every single time I read this book, I anticipate a confession of celibacy at the end when he's clearing up the various jealous misunderstandings that contributed to the demise of their first marriage. Because fidelity and trust had been so undermined, I expect him to reassure his wife that he regarded them as married during the 4-year estrangement and behaved accordingly. But he doesn't, because he didn't. And if he can't remain true to his love for her when he was continually pursuing a reconciliation, then why should I believe he'd remain faithful to his vows if anything cropped up in the future to interrupt their married sex life (like pregnancy and recovery, or a lengthy separation to deal with a family emergency concerning her beloved sister-in-law)?
There's no math involved in this rating. It's a very good book, perhaps the pinnacle of blackmailed-back-into-marriage romances. 4 stars. But like so many Michelle Reid romances, I'm left shaken by the discrepancies and not fully satisfied at the end.
April 1, 2022
'And I have already vowed to you that it would not happen again!' he said haughtily. Guy always became haughty when on the defensive; he hated it so much. 'That one time was a mistake, one which …'
'I worshipped the ground you walked on and look how badly I hurt you,' he pointed out. 'No, you didn't,' she denied that deridingly. 'You worshipped my body, and when it wasn't available for you, you just went out and found a substitute for it. So don't you dare try putting Jamie into the same selfish mould as you exist in! He loves Clare,' she stated tightly, 'loves as in lifelong caring and fidelity - something you've never felt for anyone in your whole life!'
'If we're to take into consideration your behaviour over the last four years as well as the one we were actually married, Guy, then the adultery charge can be laid at your feet a dozen times over.' Her eyes leapt to spit accusation at him. 'Or is it two dozen-or four?'
Bitch!' he growled, reaching down to grasp hold of her. 'That is for me to know and you to wonder about! A wife's place is at her husband's side, warming his bed and keeping his body content! Your desertion of those duties leaves you with no right to question how I quenched my needs, and nor ever will it in the future!'
'You truly are the most cruel and calculating bitch of my acquaintance,' he then said, quite casually.
==>it's a trap<==
'Guy, are you awake?'
Light flooded the room, and at the same cataclysmic moment that she heard the muffled murmur of her name Marnie stood frozen by the horror of what she was being forced to recognise as Guy's beautiful body lying naked in a tumble of white bedding, with the lovely Anthea coiled intimately around him -as naked as he.
October 3, 2012
This is another one of those urban legend Michelle Reid books that so many people say how good it is. And it is worthy of every piece of that praise. This is such a wonderful, beautiful story.
Both the hero and heroine suffer greatly throughout. Their story is fraught with confusion, bitterness, hurt, passion... you name it. But through it all, I could tell these two characters loved each other deeply. The writing is so powerful, Michelle Reid is truly a master at this.
Guy has to be one of my favourite ever heroes; He isn't afraid to own up to his mistakes, yet also not willing to ever give up on the love he and the heroine had. Sigh!
This book is so romantic, as well as heart breaking. So much has happened between the hero and heroine that it would have been easy for the story to get lost under everything, but Michelle Reid manages to keep the focus on the most important part - the love the still, despite everything, have for one another.
And, the result, is a pretty much perfect story.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
Both the hero and heroine suffer greatly throughout. Their story is fraught with confusion, bitterness, hurt, passion... you name it. But through it all, I could tell these two characters loved each other deeply. The writing is so powerful, Michelle Reid is truly a master at this.
Guy has to be one of my favourite ever heroes; He isn't afraid to own up to his mistakes, yet also not willing to ever give up on the love he and the heroine had. Sigh!
This book is so romantic, as well as heart breaking. So much has happened between the hero and heroine that it would have been easy for the story to get lost under everything, but Michelle Reid manages to keep the focus on the most important part - the love the still, despite everything, have for one another.
And, the result, is a pretty much perfect story.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
December 24, 2020
Annoying book. The heroine marries the much older H when she’s a teenager. He is rich and takes her to parties that are a little less than orgies where the young and naive h is forced to see his slime of a husband flirting with women and she’s often insulted by other men’s attention. This alone is unforgivable. Then she is pregnant and goes to a party where she finds his husband in bed with one of his ex... she runs, lose her baby and ask for divorce. For me this had to be the end of this sad and shallow marriage(and book). But then she needs his help and he, poor sham of a man he is, blackmails her into marriage, because he always loved her. In the end he didn’t sleep with ow and she apologizes... whaaaaaat???? I think than even if he didn’t sleep with ow on that he would surely have done afterwards because he was a shallow and poor excuse of a man. In my there is that picture of her, 19 and pregnant, going to that orgy/party and seeing her older husband completely drunk with a naked woman. He wasn’t celibate during their separation. The only good moment is when she calls him middle aged stud, because this was what he really was and he should have been ashamed of himself.
April 3, 2014
There are not many Harlequin/Mills and Boon books that I give 5 stars to but this is one of them!
I absolutely loved it and it ticked every single box for me. It is one of those that is full of angst, and throughout you can feel the pain from both hero and heroine. Towards the end there is a real kicker that I wasn't expecting which ramped up the angst even further. The hero is the type of character that even if you disliked him throughout the book, your heart will break and you will fall in love with him at the end when they talk and finally open up to each other.
I absolutely loved it and it ticked every single box for me. It is one of those that is full of angst, and throughout you can feel the pain from both hero and heroine. Towards the end there is a real kicker that I wasn't expecting which ramped up the angst even further. The hero is the type of character that even if you disliked him throughout the book, your heart will break and you will fall in love with him at the end when they talk and finally open up to each other.
May 10, 2012
This would be my favourite Michelle Reid book of all time which considering how much I love her books puts it right up there. This is a reunion story of the best and most angsty kind. Guy is a much older man and very experienced when he meets and falls in love with
artist Marnie. Right from the start both Marnie and Guy have insecurities that harm their marriage and when Guy is caught out with another woman it is too much for Marnie.
She leaves and divorces him against his will.
Four years later her brother's situation puts her back into Guy's power
and the price for helping is remarriage.
This story is a heart breaker as you find out what happened to Marnie
after the marriage break up. Guy is one of the most amazing heroes and
his suffering and self blame over the whole situation is enough to bring
tears to any self respecting readers eyes.
The journey these two go on as they work towards reconciliation is wonderful. I can read this book again and again and still cry over it. Hell I'm crying now just thinking about it.
artist Marnie. Right from the start both Marnie and Guy have insecurities that harm their marriage and when Guy is caught out with another woman it is too much for Marnie.
She leaves and divorces him against his will.
Four years later her brother's situation puts her back into Guy's power
and the price for helping is remarriage.
This story is a heart breaker as you find out what happened to Marnie
after the marriage break up. Guy is one of the most amazing heroes and
his suffering and self blame over the whole situation is enough to bring
tears to any self respecting readers eyes.
The journey these two go on as they work towards reconciliation is wonderful. I can read this book again and again and still cry over it. Hell I'm crying now just thinking about it.
March 26, 2023
"Encadenados por la pasión"
July 20, 2012
I'm at the 50% mark. I'm trying not to flounce. The H in this book has me so pissed off. Even if he didn't screw around, the things he said to make her think he did were incorrigable. What a dick. At this point, I'd say hell with the brother and SIL and let them fix their own problems and get the frick away from this guy.
SURPRISE! The guy redeems himself...mostly ;) He had all the hate coming to him, though. And he was still controlling. That never changed. One thing I liked about this story was that, although the H was physically perfect (of course), he had many admitted flaws and insecurities. I like imperfections in my H's. I can't blame the heroine for her opinions and actions. I still don't know if I quite believe him, and I read the ending.
Decent enough book though. It might edge up to 3 1/2 stars. I so enjoy getting riled, it beats bored.
SURPRISE! The guy redeems himself...mostly ;) He had all the hate coming to him, though. And he was still controlling. That never changed. One thing I liked about this story was that, although the H was physically perfect (of course), he had many admitted flaws and insecurities. I like imperfections in my H's. I can't blame the heroine for her opinions and actions. I still don't know if I quite believe him, and I read the ending.
Decent enough book though. It might edge up to 3 1/2 stars. I so enjoy getting riled, it beats bored.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2025
Ive read other HP Landia books by Michelle Reid and really connected with her writing style. Yes its in 3rd person, single pov but the mcs cone across genuine and 3 dimensional. However there are dated elements as this book was written in the early 90s. Naïve young virgin heroine, who's independent and sunny meets older, sucessful millionaire ex raceway driver hero when she goes to meet her brother at work ( he's the boss). Hes controlling and aggressive but they have a whirlwind romance and marry. Then her fierce independence ( she works as an artist ) and his stubbornness bring a stalemate and they start to grow distant. Then when she goes to visit him at a party she find his naked with another wonan in bed. He chases after her..swears he didnt cheat that it wasnt as she thought but she cant believe him and eventually they divorce after she threatens his reputation with exposing the adultery.
4 years later she comes to him after her brother and sil get into financial trouble. Her price is her body and soul and renarrying him in order for him to help. When she again goes to live with him again she learns that perhaps things arent as they seemed before and she can forgive him. Hes still a controlling man though, that never changed.
4 years later she comes to him after her brother and sil get into financial trouble. Her price is her body and soul and renarrying him in order for him to help. When she again goes to live with him again she learns that perhaps things arent as they seemed before and she can forgive him. Hes still a controlling man though, that never changed.
October 31, 2016
THIS IS AMAZING . The last 40 pages have been terrific , Made me want to go and give Guy a big Hug , He deserves it . My heart melts for him , Poor thing he considers himself guilty but the truth is he is the innocent victim . Ohhh wait , I think I feel bad for both of them , sigh*
This is toooo good . My favourite partwas the climax , when she realises that he have been loving her all the way and then he consoles her .. this particular dialogue tho :')
"you did not do it in anger, but with all the pain and anguish of one who saw their hopes and dreams lying dead and bloodied at their feet. Only a heart bleeds like that, Marnie. I know because my own heart bled along with yours."
Already re-read the second half of the book . This is a keeper .
This is toooo good . My favourite partwas the climax , when she realises that he have been loving her all the way and then he consoles her .. this particular dialogue tho :')
"you did not do it in anger, but with all the pain and anguish of one who saw their hopes and dreams lying dead and bloodied at their feet. Only a heart bleeds like that, Marnie. I know because my own heart bled along with yours."
Already re-read the second half of the book . This is a keeper .
August 6, 2013
Despite some irritating qualities, this was enjoyable overall. I think it's because even though the hero is a certain "type" -- sexist controlling alpha -- he has a unique personality and some vulnerabilities, like being sensitive about how much older he is than his wife. He came off as pretty sweet by the end.
avoid
March 28, 2017Hero actually cheats on heroine and then has the audacity to tell the heroine that it's wife duty to be with a husband to warm his bed and provide for his physical need which she failed at when she walked out of their marriage because HE cheated.
I don't believe in second chances for cheaters.
No forgiveness for cheating on your spouse. Drunk or otherwise.
I don't believe in second chances for cheaters.
No forgiveness for cheating on your spouse. Drunk or otherwise.
July 13, 2020
10% in the book, it seemed way too familiar..and then I realized I had read another edition of it.
Review here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 23, 2015
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Reason for rating: it made me tear up (an indication a book deserves 4 stars and more). There were sweet moments that I absolutely adored and loved.
Read date: 22/08/2015
Relationship toxicity (1-10): 8.
GUY
“He nodded curtly. 'You are referring, no doubt, to the fact that I wished my bride to come to me innocent on our wedding night”
I hate this double standards. I HATE IT. I'm all for people saving themselves for the right person, heck to be honest, I love it! It's absolutely beautiful when a person has only been with that special someone, and not screwed every single person on the block. *gag* But I absolutely HATE IT when men who are manwhores specifically want blushing virgin brides (and I know lots that do. They'll sleep with multiple women from the club, but would never keep the women on as a long time girlfriend or wife because they're easy). Why should a tainted cesspool of #%$€ think they're even good enough? ( | ___ | ?)
We need to more Tim Tebow-esk MEN in this world, not little monkey boys who can't keep their sausage zipped. *cry cry*
。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。
Another thing with Guy is the paternal way he acts towards Marnie. She isn't his daughter, yet he treats her like she is. Furthermore, he is extremely possessive about her and he seems to think it is alright for a man to have an affair, as long as the wife doesn't find out. (Ｔ＿Ｔ)
Exhibit A:
"Marnie glared at him with contempt. 'So get thee behind me, woman!' she scorned his arrogance. 'For I am your lord and master!' 'Yes!' he hissed, almost lifting her out of the chair with the hard grasp of his hands. 'That is exactly it! Now stop riling me to anger.' He threw her away from him, to straighten up.”
Exhibit B:
"You'll sleep where I tell you to sleep, when I let you sleep,' he countered, just as flatly.”
Exhibit C:
“As. from tonight, you became my property again-which means you'll be taking no more commissions which take you away from home.' 'I won't give up my work for you, Guy!' she stated sharply. 'You will do exactly as I say,' he informed her”
I'm not going to lie, I did find his possessiveness and commanding nature HOT. Like steaming out. I love take control men. ◉‿◉
... BUT HE IS A VERY FRUSTRATING 'man'**
It is also understandable why Marnie acts the way she does.
**more like a little pampered boy in a man's body who can't keep his pants zipped and his libido in check, if you ask me.
That was my first impression of guy. But after 70% of the book, Guy starts to redeem himself and get his MAN card.
MARNIE
Marnie was very good at coming up with backhanded retorts. She scored a hit every time.
“One of the most fundamental errors I made when dealing with you before, Marnie, was--'
'Sleeping around!' she snapped out bitterly.”
Marnie: I
Guy: 0
“Angrily, she threw the towel aside and walked threateningly towards him. 'Because this woman has more self-respect than to sleep with an ageing old stallion who sees his main function in life as putting himself out for stud!”
Marnie: II
Guy: 0
I could use many other examples throughout the book, but I would literally be pasting all of the book here, because 90% of the book consisted of Marnie making Guy suffer and her making jabs at him. Jabs which are totally correct. Bravo to Marnie. I do love her comebacks, because they were true. If Marnie was a sniper, she'd be a first class one. She hits bullseye everytime Guy is concerned.
I'm not fond of her physical hits at Guy however.
Literal hits by Marnie at Guy
“Rage consumed her. And on a cry that came out like an animal howl she threw herself at him, hitting out with her fists, tears pouring down her cheeks, eyes almost blind with shock and anger.”
“she had flown at him with her nails, and Guy, white-faced and trying desperately to hold her still in front of him, had said something very similar to her. And drunk”
“To be fair to Guy, when it had all come pouring out, he had held on to her tightly, refusing to let go even when she fought him like a wildcat in an effort to break free.”
I'm not fond of Marnie hitting out at Guy, who brings out the worst in her. On the other hand, her behaviour towards him is down to the fact that she witnessed the man she loved .
But as a heroine, I loved Marnie. Why? Well.. I feel I can relate to her. If I was involved with a man like Guy Frabosa and felt as deeply as she did for him and go through what she did, I would probably react and act the way she does. I also loved her aversion to drinking, partying and promiscuity and proffered to stay at home to paint. It really endeared her to me. She is a unicorn in a roomful of horses. An emerald in a roomful of diamonds. FYI diamonds aren't rare.
I still can't decide whether or not Guy was celibate during the separation, because he hid so many things and was sarcastic a lot of the time.
Reason for rating: it made me tear up (an indication a book deserves 4 stars and more). There were sweet moments that I absolutely adored and loved.
Read date: 22/08/2015
Relationship toxicity (1-10): 8.
GUY
“He nodded curtly. 'You are referring, no doubt, to the fact that I wished my bride to come to me innocent on our wedding night”
I hate this double standards. I HATE IT. I'm all for people saving themselves for the right person, heck to be honest, I love it! It's absolutely beautiful when a person has only been with that special someone, and not screwed every single person on the block. *gag* But I absolutely HATE IT when men who are manwhores specifically want blushing virgin brides (and I know lots that do. They'll sleep with multiple women from the club, but would never keep the women on as a long time girlfriend or wife because they're easy). Why should a tainted cesspool of #%$€ think they're even good enough? ( | ___ | ?)
We need to more Tim Tebow-esk MEN in this world, not little monkey boys who can't keep their sausage zipped. *cry cry*
。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。
Another thing with Guy is the paternal way he acts towards Marnie. She isn't his daughter, yet he treats her like she is. Furthermore, he is extremely possessive about her and he seems to think it is alright for a man to have an affair, as long as the wife doesn't find out. (Ｔ＿Ｔ)
Exhibit A:
"Marnie glared at him with contempt. 'So get thee behind me, woman!' she scorned his arrogance. 'For I am your lord and master!' 'Yes!' he hissed, almost lifting her out of the chair with the hard grasp of his hands. 'That is exactly it! Now stop riling me to anger.' He threw her away from him, to straighten up.”
Exhibit B:
"You'll sleep where I tell you to sleep, when I let you sleep,' he countered, just as flatly.”
Exhibit C:
“As. from tonight, you became my property again-which means you'll be taking no more commissions which take you away from home.' 'I won't give up my work for you, Guy!' she stated sharply. 'You will do exactly as I say,' he informed her”
I'm not going to lie, I did find his possessiveness and commanding nature HOT. Like steaming out. I love take control men. ◉‿◉
... BUT HE IS A VERY FRUSTRATING 'man'**
It is also understandable why Marnie acts the way she does.
**more like a little pampered boy in a man's body who can't keep his pants zipped and his libido in check, if you ask me.
That was my first impression of guy. But after 70% of the book, Guy starts to redeem himself and get his MAN card.
MARNIE
Marnie was very good at coming up with backhanded retorts. She scored a hit every time.
“One of the most fundamental errors I made when dealing with you before, Marnie, was--'
'Sleeping around!' she snapped out bitterly.”
Marnie: I
Guy: 0
“Angrily, she threw the towel aside and walked threateningly towards him. 'Because this woman has more self-respect than to sleep with an ageing old stallion who sees his main function in life as putting himself out for stud!”
Marnie: II
Guy: 0
I could use many other examples throughout the book, but I would literally be pasting all of the book here, because 90% of the book consisted of Marnie making Guy suffer and her making jabs at him. Jabs which are totally correct. Bravo to Marnie. I do love her comebacks, because they were true. If Marnie was a sniper, she'd be a first class one. She hits bullseye everytime Guy is concerned.
I'm not fond of her physical hits at Guy however.
Literal hits by Marnie at Guy
“Rage consumed her. And on a cry that came out like an animal howl she threw herself at him, hitting out with her fists, tears pouring down her cheeks, eyes almost blind with shock and anger.”
“she had flown at him with her nails, and Guy, white-faced and trying desperately to hold her still in front of him, had said something very similar to her. And drunk”
“To be fair to Guy, when it had all come pouring out, he had held on to her tightly, refusing to let go even when she fought him like a wildcat in an effort to break free.”
I'm not fond of Marnie hitting out at Guy, who brings out the worst in her. On the other hand, her behaviour towards him is down to the fact that she witnessed the man she loved .
But as a heroine, I loved Marnie. Why? Well.. I feel I can relate to her. If I was involved with a man like Guy Frabosa and felt as deeply as she did for him and go through what she did, I would probably react and act the way she does. I also loved her aversion to drinking, partying and promiscuity and proffered to stay at home to paint. It really endeared her to me. She is a unicorn in a roomful of horses. An emerald in a roomful of diamonds. FYI diamonds aren't rare.
I still can't decide whether or not Guy was celibate during the separation, because he hid so many things and was sarcastic a lot of the time.
April 26, 2018
Not a bad story, but too many convenient misunderstandings. He may have been apologetic at the end, and have been so noble, for not actually sleeping with Anthea. However, throughout the novel Guy was a nasty, controlling tool. Indeed Marnie may have worked a lot, but he expected her to give up work all together, as that supposedly wrecked their marriage, while he gallivanted off still working on London? Fair I think not! I also think the route of their marriage problems, was not Marnie's work but Guys behaviour. In no marriage is it acceptable to take your wife to a party, leave her completely alone while you spend the whole evening flirting with your ex beau, while your creepy friends try their luck with your wife! When Marnie finally has enough and storms off home, Guy follows, not to apologise, but to chastise her for embarrassing him! I thought Marnie was pretty accurate when she labelled Guy and aging stud putting himself about! He took offence but it was the truth, he was not some young thing who had know no better, he was an experienced man nearing forty who should now how to treat his wife! What I found hard was he really did not change towards the end, stating he suffered the first time in their marriage losing his identity, and letting Marnie control his life! Seriously, her not wanting to hang around with his creepy friends, was her being a bitch apparently! He should have wanted nothing to do with them himself! Not only that we are expected to believe Guy has some sixth sense and can sense when Marnie is pregnant before she even knows herself! Come on! This is what apparently triggered him to storm off and misbehave as he believed she was keeping it from him! That apparently explains why he told the woman he apparently loved she looked a mess, than tell her he would take a woman who knows how to treat a man. To top it all he storms off staying out the entire night and letting her believe he cheated on her! He then vanishes her to his house out of London, to choose between their marriage and her work! Controlling is a mild word to describe him. Guy than proceeds to go to his asshole friends party, get too drunk to the point where his ex Anthea gets in bed with him and he has no clue. Apparently his amazing friends set him up to hurt his 'child bride'. But the fact he didn't supposedly have sex with anthea makes him a white knight as Marnie realises she is all to blame and she should be begging forgiveness! Even Guy points out to her is it so acceptable that he ignored her,
Got drunk out his mind and did not know if anything would have happened with another woman? Wake up Marnie, don't be a doormat now! He was upset in the end and did seem remorseful, but not really good enough! Guy said he loved Marnie and only wanted her heart, but all he really seemed to want was her innocence and her company in bed!
Got drunk out his mind and did not know if anything would have happened with another woman? Wake up Marnie, don't be a doormat now! He was upset in the end and did seem remorseful, but not really good enough! Guy said he loved Marnie and only wanted her heart, but all he really seemed to want was her innocence and her company in bed!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2019
"Lost in Love" is the story of Marnie and Guy.
A sweet but heartbreaking tale of a couple who were destroyed by misunderstandings, reunited by coercion but never gave up on each other.
The book begins when the h's brother, who is almost always in trouble, begs for her help to ask her ex to save him. The h has already been warned by the H to stop rescuing her brother, but this time as her sweet SIL is fragile and pregnant after a devastating miscarriage, she reluctantly agrees.
She goes back to the H, only to realize yet again that their chemistry has not abated even a tiny bit..something she suspected all along. The H has never given up on her or stopped wanting her- something which he is very vocal about- but after his betrayal four years ago- the heroine is very wary.
Thus begins what we always get in HQN books- blackmail, compulsion, undeniable chemistry, passion, jealousy, obsession- but here Ms Reid sets herself apart by writing grade A angst, enough heartbreak to tear your soul, and a love so deep that it transcends logic.
The couple went through a lot, thanks to misunderstandings, miscommunication and their own volatile ardour- instead of dialogue the h resorted to running away, the H decided to drown in alcohol, and external factors got the chance to tear them apart. Both were hurt, the H tries to apologize but the h does not concede..until the very end when a kind FIL makes her face the truth, and the h's devotion (which she never doubted much, just his loyalty).
Another great read!
Safe
3.75/5
A sweet but heartbreaking tale of a couple who were destroyed by misunderstandings, reunited by coercion but never gave up on each other.
The book begins when the h's brother, who is almost always in trouble, begs for her help to ask her ex to save him. The h has already been warned by the H to stop rescuing her brother, but this time as her sweet SIL is fragile and pregnant after a devastating miscarriage, she reluctantly agrees.
She goes back to the H, only to realize yet again that their chemistry has not abated even a tiny bit..something she suspected all along. The H has never given up on her or stopped wanting her- something which he is very vocal about- but after his betrayal four years ago- the heroine is very wary.
Thus begins what we always get in HQN books- blackmail, compulsion, undeniable chemistry, passion, jealousy, obsession- but here Ms Reid sets herself apart by writing grade A angst, enough heartbreak to tear your soul, and a love so deep that it transcends logic.
The couple went through a lot, thanks to misunderstandings, miscommunication and their own volatile ardour- instead of dialogue the h resorted to running away, the H decided to drown in alcohol, and external factors got the chance to tear them apart. Both were hurt, the H tries to apologize but the h does not concede..until the very end when a kind FIL makes her face the truth, and the h's devotion (which she never doubted much, just his loyalty).
Another great read!
Safe
3.75/5
July 15, 2019
ضائعة في الحب لميشال ريد
Years ago, when I was a teenager, this book was among my favorite translated copies, I read it in Arabic, from روايات أحلام and I loved it so much I remember reading it over and over again.
Marnie meets the wild Guy Frabosa when she was young and doesn't expect a guy like him to look at her, they marry and she falls hopelessly in love. Being a sensitive artist and him being a sportsman and into racing cars they were as different as possible.
One night, Marnie witnesses Guy cheating on her, and she goes crazy on him, falls down a set of stairs, loses her baby and divorces him vowing to never set eyes on him again. But now that her stupid brother is in trouble again, the only person she can turn to for help is her ex-husband, who still wants her in his life and bed.
The last scene in the book when Marnie thinks Guy has died in an explosive car and she runs to him is amazing, especially when she finds him safe and sound.
Years ago, when I was a teenager, this book was among my favorite translated copies, I read it in Arabic, from روايات أحلام and I loved it so much I remember reading it over and over again.
Marnie meets the wild Guy Frabosa when she was young and doesn't expect a guy like him to look at her, they marry and she falls hopelessly in love. Being a sensitive artist and him being a sportsman and into racing cars they were as different as possible.
One night, Marnie witnesses Guy cheating on her, and she goes crazy on him, falls down a set of stairs, loses her baby and divorces him vowing to never set eyes on him again. But now that her stupid brother is in trouble again, the only person she can turn to for help is her ex-husband, who still wants her in his life and bed.
The last scene in the book when Marnie thinks Guy has died in an explosive car and she runs to him is amazing, especially when she finds him safe and sound.
October 21, 2016
this was one huge roller-coaster ! plenty of angst & intense emotions ! the hero had a lot to answer for ! he tortured the heroine mentally and was vicious 4 years ago so dat when the big misunderstanding happened, she did not believe him. she had no trust or whatever left! for he had been threatening to cheat since many months! he said marnie was not a proper wife to him, too absorbed in her brother’s problems, too much the bohemian artist! I say HE was not a proper husband to her! he was not prepared for marriage and was tremendously insecure as she was so much younger than him, and referred to as "child-bride" by his friends. so he had to resort to those ridiculous threats to make himself feel better! the end was heartbreaking because all along, he had been innocent! he was actually set up and had not been to bed wid andrea on dat fateful night! hats off to mrs michelle reid! she has done it again! another awesome read!which definitely made my favourites list!
November 22, 2014
Michelle Reid is hands down, the queen of angsty romance and this book proves it. The relationship between the protagonists is so natural and so very hot. These are flawed characters with a flawed bond; but you really really want them to find their way back to each other even with all the misunderstandings in the way. Besides, I do love a hero who's so completely in love with his wife as Guy is with Marnie. This is a very 'real' and 'raw' romance' that deals with regular couples' insecurities (including the age gap issue). It also reminds me of MR's 'Gold Ring of Betrayal'- which is equally angsty and about a hubby-wife relationship as volatile as this one. Wonderful; and definitely on my read-again shelf.
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