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Passion and Illusion
New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky captures the magic and truth of love in this delightful tale, first published in 1983, of opposites attracting. A controversial Boston radio talk-show host, Monica Grant is a strong, willful, and independent woman. She wants an equally strong man. Someone like the heroes in the romance novels she's addicted to . . . someone like Michael Shaw. A cop with the heart of a poet, Michael is looking for that special someone, too—an old-fashioned, feminine woman. And for some reason he thinks Monica just might be the one. By turns infuriatingly chauvinistic and irresistibly attractive, Michael demands something from Monica that she doesn't know if she can give—or even wants to. With Michael, can she find the happy ending of her own love story?
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
108 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Delinsky
309 books4,364 followersI was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 1, 2018
The title should have alerted me to its content. There is an audience for the pure romance but this is very representative of the early 1980s when it was written. Not much to it.
May 23, 2015
(Warning! Ranting up ahead! Do not read if you do not enjoy rants!)
Monica is a radio host who is highly critical of the police department while Michael is a policeman who is attracted to her. In the midst of this budding romance is an elusive and mysterious pickpocket who starts out innocent enough but becomes more and more sinister as time goes on.
The romance was sucky, but the radio/pickpocket part was much better and much more interesting. And i've come up with a theory for why the romance happened.
The Theory:
I didn’t understand Monica’s beef with not allowing others to see her romance novels and her embarrassment when others saw them.... at first. Monica, I'm sorry to say, lives in a parallel dimension where whenever a guy who may be mildly interested in a woman sees that she reads romance novels, he immediately wants to and will try to seduce her and cannot be deterred from doing so.
Unlike our world in which a guy, whose mildly interested in a woman sees that she reads romance novels, will be too busy fretting over how he can ask her out, busy eyeing something else besides her book, or any other options besides the one in the book's twisted world. Think about it, after our ‘hero’, Michael, a nice guy who may have been attracted slightly to her sees that Monica has romance novels, he pulls a Mr. Hyde and uses her books as leverage in order to kiss her on the job.
The Romance (Negative)
The Hero:
From the start Michael behaves inappropriately. He forces lunch on her without asking her if she wanted it or what she wanted to eat. Which isn't too bad until you realize he's using work time that he could spend finding criminals and upholding the law to have an impromptu date with a person he just met. He kisses her, gets physical, and MAKES OUT with her in the police station, body gestures leading to him wanting sex.
All over the span of two days.
Now, this is the guy that wants to cut down on corruption in the police force? The guy that can’t even suppress his lust on the job.
Also, after those two days, Mike decides to go all the way with Monica and is quick to assume her refusal is a way for her to assert power over the situation. They have spent less than 24 hours (cumulative and estimated) together. She even said out loud that she did not consent to him having sex with her so soon, and he chooses to associate his assault with her wanting control.
Mike, you turned what would have been a pleasant evening into attempted rape.
Don't believe me?
“I could have forced you, you know.”
That was the sentence that Mike says in the book after Monica wrestles her way out of his grasp.
But of course, what pacifies a rape victim but the offer of fried clams from her would be rapist?
Later on after their date, Mike gets physical again with a "power hungry' (AKA protesting) Monica and nearly goes all the way.
He gropes and kisses her to get her in the mood but I count it as part of assault if she repeatedly said 'no' in response. After Mike asks her why she wants him to have sex with her and she doesn’t give him an answer that is to his liking, he storms off after insulting her.
ONE. DATE.
Less than 24 hours spent together with a two week hiatus in between.
And you are ready to have sex with this lady you barely know? Also, who during seduction has been able to think clearly enough to give a logical, well thought out answer to why they should copulate?
As I go further into the book, I picked up on a pattern of Mike’s methods for 'winning over' Monica. He starts nice before becoming abusive and angry before seducing her. The latter two are interchanged throughout the story, but it does not change his behavior or make it any better. This is borderline psychotic behavior. And thats giving him the benefit of the doubt.
I think a few more weeks pass before Mike comes back from out of the blue to stalk and scare the shit out of Monica. He was trying to prove a point to her, however he does not own or have any responsibility towards Monica. If anything he owes Monica multiple apologies for not protecting her and assaulting her on and off the job.
Later I found out that he was going to walk her home like a gentleman. BUT she left too fast. Out of all the lame excuses....
He could have called out to her when she slowed down later on, sure it would have startled her, but he would be less of an asshole than by pretending to be a murderer and/or rapist just to prove a point.. Especially sometime later, the same thing happens and he DOES call her.
When they finally do have sex, (at least she consents) he apparently takes complete control (I always skip over sex scenes in romances, I just don't enjoy reading them) and comes up with the bullshit excuse that he wanted to control her passion because it made him feel powerful or whatever....
Near the end he engages in a fight with her over chocolate and accuses her of being a slut before leaving her again.
Where the hell did he keep getting all those bullshit theories from? Is it because of his first wife?
I'll explain:
A few years ago, Mike got married to a woman who we know nothing about. He claims that she was like Monica, in her being strong and independent, but I guess she cheated on Mike or dominated him in the bedroom, these are the only two reasons I could see someone as chauvinistic as Mike break up with a woman. We only get snippets from Mike to see her personality, and those are biased, because he hates her, so we cannot trust all of what he says because he's making her out to be a cartoony villain instead of a real person with depth.
We all have no clue what her take on the relationship's demise was, we have no clue as to what kind of person she is/ was before the marriage. For a relationship to work, both partners must be working together. For most situations, it isn't just the vicious ex wife who is the only cause of the downfall of the relationship, Michael had to have a part.
So what traits of Monica's are similar to his ex's?
I don't know! I don't even know who SHE is!
At the end of the book he doesn’t apologize for forcing himself on her, calling her names, being controlling and verbally abusive and taking advantage of his rights as a cop.
I hated this character so much. I hated him because he made me realize how much I hate hating men in these books. I have feminist ideals, not many modern woman in our world don't have some inner feminist inside them, but Mike and characters like him bring out the ultra-radical feminist in any man or women. I doubt that most men would like being associated with this character purely based on gender. Mike is loathsome, an insult to men, good policemen and people with facial hair.
These female romance authors need to wake up, and start writing their male leads better. Authors like Elizabeth Lowell who happily portray their leads as sex obsessed animals who willingly rape the women they claim to love, even in a modern situation. I friggen HATE bashing male characters constantly. Not to mention, for people who read my reviews frequently, it must be repetitive.
I’m glad that I live in the real world, where, if a cop I trusted to keep me safe tried to french me, I can have him charged for sexual harassment.
The Heroine:
Monica for the most part is one of the better heroines I’ve read. She’s strong, independent and very cool.
However her behavior half the time makes me want to take those compliments back.
She acts like she hates Mike, but then reacts by inviting him into her house, flirting with him and being responsive towards his advances.
Other times she just doesn’t know when to shut up, think about it and respond differently to him in order to get a response that she would actually like out of him.
I applaud her for wanting to get the upper hand because she's showing him that she will not stand for him treating her like she's an object or inferior because of her gender. But, since she's a reporter, a part of it is knowing how to work with people and to know when to push them for information, and when to not piss them off.
I don't want to sound like she deserved the reaction that she got from him. No one deserves to be harassed by law enforcement. I felt that I made it 100% clear that I find Mike a detestable pile of crap that even dung beetles would not go near. I think that despite what Delinsky writes, Monica is dumbed down with the edge taken off so Mike could be able to get her in the end.
Otherwise, if she was half the strong independent woman that we were told she was, she would have come up with other ideas to respond to his advances, like sitting him down somewhere public and making her feelings clear. Part of being a strong independent woman is knowing when to fight and when to reach a compromise, if she talked to him and expressed that he was behaving unprofessionally, it would have spoken volumes as to her character. In fact, I would have liked that better. The romance would have been less interesting but the author could have put more effort into the pickpocket mystery, it was definitely needed.
Lastly, she's dumb for walking home unattended and in the dark for four years and not once anticipating that something bad could happen to her. I bus down to college in a place that isn't the safest, but I bought pepperspray and keep it on me at all times, just for protection. I can't guarantee that I won't run into trouble, but having a quick getaway plan never hurt anyone.
Everything Else (Positive):
I did like learning about Monica’s job. I felt that it showed a fairly accurate portrayal of a person working in the media business. A lot of research, skill and charisma goes into reporting and Monica does her best to get modern and relatively useful information to her listeners.
The pickpocket side story was relatively well paced and interesting. It starts off with him being a regular jerk who's doing this for the thrill, but soon he is charged for manslaughter (even though he didn't really cause the death of the person), and reveals that he knows personal information about Monica. What she looks like, where she lives, etc. The idea is mentioned that he's someone Monica knows but never suspects, but we never find out the identity of this guy, nor do we ever get a clue as to who it might be.
It was pretty disappointing. I was really into it.
But on the other hand, the pickpocket was either stupid, crazy or both. For instance, he calls frequently on Monica's talk show, never long enough for the signal to be traced, yet frequently enough for a possibility. And he poisons some, not all of the chocolates that he sent to Monica.
(Yes he was the cause of the chocolate argument, in the "hero" section although our brilliant officer Mike couldn't figure it out, even though he knows this madman knows where she lives and has other information about her.)
The Pickpocket put RAT POISON in some of the chocolates and gave a pretty warning not to eat too many that of course, Monica doesn't listen to. Because really, would any of us listen in that circumstance when mentioned about something delicious but fattening?
The Conclusion:
I think I figured out why I'm harder on the males than I am on the females. Because the males are supposed to be the ones who help enrich the heroines life, instead of consistently pestering and annoying her into submission. Michael is supposed to be the one that Monica wants to go to for love and support, not because she's dependent on him or because she's scared of what will happen if she doesn't, as well as being split between hating and lusting after him. And thats all I saw, lust with a pretty bow tied on it to make it look better. The hero is supposed to be just that, the hero, and Michael Shaw was just a hypocritical misogynist pig in my eyes.
All in all, the book deserves both of its stars. The real thrill is everything that doesn't focus on the romance. Maybe I read too much into these stories, but I wanted to get a fluffy love story, and I saw nothing hinting at the possibility of one.
Monica is a radio host who is highly critical of the police department while Michael is a policeman who is attracted to her. In the midst of this budding romance is an elusive and mysterious pickpocket who starts out innocent enough but becomes more and more sinister as time goes on.
The romance was sucky, but the radio/pickpocket part was much better and much more interesting. And i've come up with a theory for why the romance happened.
The Theory:
I didn’t understand Monica’s beef with not allowing others to see her romance novels and her embarrassment when others saw them.... at first. Monica, I'm sorry to say, lives in a parallel dimension where whenever a guy who may be mildly interested in a woman sees that she reads romance novels, he immediately wants to and will try to seduce her and cannot be deterred from doing so.
Unlike our world in which a guy, whose mildly interested in a woman sees that she reads romance novels, will be too busy fretting over how he can ask her out, busy eyeing something else besides her book, or any other options besides the one in the book's twisted world. Think about it, after our ‘hero’, Michael, a nice guy who may have been attracted slightly to her sees that Monica has romance novels, he pulls a Mr. Hyde and uses her books as leverage in order to kiss her on the job.
The Romance (Negative)
The Hero:
From the start Michael behaves inappropriately. He forces lunch on her without asking her if she wanted it or what she wanted to eat. Which isn't too bad until you realize he's using work time that he could spend finding criminals and upholding the law to have an impromptu date with a person he just met. He kisses her, gets physical, and MAKES OUT with her in the police station, body gestures leading to him wanting sex.
All over the span of two days.
Now, this is the guy that wants to cut down on corruption in the police force? The guy that can’t even suppress his lust on the job.
Also, after those two days, Mike decides to go all the way with Monica and is quick to assume her refusal is a way for her to assert power over the situation. They have spent less than 24 hours (cumulative and estimated) together. She even said out loud that she did not consent to him having sex with her so soon, and he chooses to associate his assault with her wanting control.
Mike, you turned what would have been a pleasant evening into attempted rape.
Don't believe me?
“I could have forced you, you know.”
That was the sentence that Mike says in the book after Monica wrestles her way out of his grasp.
But of course, what pacifies a rape victim but the offer of fried clams from her would be rapist?
Later on after their date, Mike gets physical again with a "power hungry' (AKA protesting) Monica and nearly goes all the way.
He gropes and kisses her to get her in the mood but I count it as part of assault if she repeatedly said 'no' in response. After Mike asks her why she wants him to have sex with her and she doesn’t give him an answer that is to his liking, he storms off after insulting her.
ONE. DATE.
Less than 24 hours spent together with a two week hiatus in between.
And you are ready to have sex with this lady you barely know? Also, who during seduction has been able to think clearly enough to give a logical, well thought out answer to why they should copulate?
As I go further into the book, I picked up on a pattern of Mike’s methods for 'winning over' Monica. He starts nice before becoming abusive and angry before seducing her. The latter two are interchanged throughout the story, but it does not change his behavior or make it any better. This is borderline psychotic behavior. And thats giving him the benefit of the doubt.
I think a few more weeks pass before Mike comes back from out of the blue to stalk and scare the shit out of Monica. He was trying to prove a point to her, however he does not own or have any responsibility towards Monica. If anything he owes Monica multiple apologies for not protecting her and assaulting her on and off the job.
Later I found out that he was going to walk her home like a gentleman. BUT she left too fast. Out of all the lame excuses....
He could have called out to her when she slowed down later on, sure it would have startled her, but he would be less of an asshole than by pretending to be a murderer and/or rapist just to prove a point.. Especially sometime later, the same thing happens and he DOES call her.
When they finally do have sex, (at least she consents) he apparently takes complete control (I always skip over sex scenes in romances, I just don't enjoy reading them) and comes up with the bullshit excuse that he wanted to control her passion because it made him feel powerful or whatever....
Near the end he engages in a fight with her over chocolate and accuses her of being a slut before leaving her again.
Where the hell did he keep getting all those bullshit theories from? Is it because of his first wife?
I'll explain:
A few years ago, Mike got married to a woman who we know nothing about. He claims that she was like Monica, in her being strong and independent, but I guess she cheated on Mike or dominated him in the bedroom, these are the only two reasons I could see someone as chauvinistic as Mike break up with a woman. We only get snippets from Mike to see her personality, and those are biased, because he hates her, so we cannot trust all of what he says because he's making her out to be a cartoony villain instead of a real person with depth.
We all have no clue what her take on the relationship's demise was, we have no clue as to what kind of person she is/ was before the marriage. For a relationship to work, both partners must be working together. For most situations, it isn't just the vicious ex wife who is the only cause of the downfall of the relationship, Michael had to have a part.
So what traits of Monica's are similar to his ex's?
I don't know! I don't even know who SHE is!
At the end of the book he doesn’t apologize for forcing himself on her, calling her names, being controlling and verbally abusive and taking advantage of his rights as a cop.
I hated this character so much. I hated him because he made me realize how much I hate hating men in these books. I have feminist ideals, not many modern woman in our world don't have some inner feminist inside them, but Mike and characters like him bring out the ultra-radical feminist in any man or women. I doubt that most men would like being associated with this character purely based on gender. Mike is loathsome, an insult to men, good policemen and people with facial hair.
These female romance authors need to wake up, and start writing their male leads better. Authors like Elizabeth Lowell who happily portray their leads as sex obsessed animals who willingly rape the women they claim to love, even in a modern situation. I friggen HATE bashing male characters constantly. Not to mention, for people who read my reviews frequently, it must be repetitive.
I’m glad that I live in the real world, where, if a cop I trusted to keep me safe tried to french me, I can have him charged for sexual harassment.
The Heroine:
Monica for the most part is one of the better heroines I’ve read. She’s strong, independent and very cool.
However her behavior half the time makes me want to take those compliments back.
She acts like she hates Mike, but then reacts by inviting him into her house, flirting with him and being responsive towards his advances.
Other times she just doesn’t know when to shut up, think about it and respond differently to him in order to get a response that she would actually like out of him.
I applaud her for wanting to get the upper hand because she's showing him that she will not stand for him treating her like she's an object or inferior because of her gender. But, since she's a reporter, a part of it is knowing how to work with people and to know when to push them for information, and when to not piss them off.
I don't want to sound like she deserved the reaction that she got from him. No one deserves to be harassed by law enforcement. I felt that I made it 100% clear that I find Mike a detestable pile of crap that even dung beetles would not go near. I think that despite what Delinsky writes, Monica is dumbed down with the edge taken off so Mike could be able to get her in the end.
Otherwise, if she was half the strong independent woman that we were told she was, she would have come up with other ideas to respond to his advances, like sitting him down somewhere public and making her feelings clear. Part of being a strong independent woman is knowing when to fight and when to reach a compromise, if she talked to him and expressed that he was behaving unprofessionally, it would have spoken volumes as to her character. In fact, I would have liked that better. The romance would have been less interesting but the author could have put more effort into the pickpocket mystery, it was definitely needed.
Lastly, she's dumb for walking home unattended and in the dark for four years and not once anticipating that something bad could happen to her. I bus down to college in a place that isn't the safest, but I bought pepperspray and keep it on me at all times, just for protection. I can't guarantee that I won't run into trouble, but having a quick getaway plan never hurt anyone.
Everything Else (Positive):
I did like learning about Monica’s job. I felt that it showed a fairly accurate portrayal of a person working in the media business. A lot of research, skill and charisma goes into reporting and Monica does her best to get modern and relatively useful information to her listeners.
The pickpocket side story was relatively well paced and interesting. It starts off with him being a regular jerk who's doing this for the thrill, but soon he is charged for manslaughter (even though he didn't really cause the death of the person), and reveals that he knows personal information about Monica. What she looks like, where she lives, etc. The idea is mentioned that he's someone Monica knows but never suspects, but we never find out the identity of this guy, nor do we ever get a clue as to who it might be.
It was pretty disappointing. I was really into it.
But on the other hand, the pickpocket was either stupid, crazy or both. For instance, he calls frequently on Monica's talk show, never long enough for the signal to be traced, yet frequently enough for a possibility. And he poisons some, not all of the chocolates that he sent to Monica.
(Yes he was the cause of the chocolate argument, in the "hero" section although our brilliant officer Mike couldn't figure it out, even though he knows this madman knows where she lives and has other information about her.)
The Pickpocket put RAT POISON in some of the chocolates and gave a pretty warning not to eat too many that of course, Monica doesn't listen to. Because really, would any of us listen in that circumstance when mentioned about something delicious but fattening?
The Conclusion:
I think I figured out why I'm harder on the males than I am on the females. Because the males are supposed to be the ones who help enrich the heroines life, instead of consistently pestering and annoying her into submission. Michael is supposed to be the one that Monica wants to go to for love and support, not because she's dependent on him or because she's scared of what will happen if she doesn't, as well as being split between hating and lusting after him. And thats all I saw, lust with a pretty bow tied on it to make it look better. The hero is supposed to be just that, the hero, and Michael Shaw was just a hypocritical misogynist pig in my eyes.
All in all, the book deserves both of its stars. The real thrill is everything that doesn't focus on the romance. Maybe I read too much into these stories, but I wanted to get a fluffy love story, and I saw nothing hinting at the possibility of one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2024
Как се хванах на въдицата да чета тази книга. Привлече ме това, че героинята чете романтични книги. Реших, че ще е нещо забавно и чаровно. Да, ама книгата е писана през 80-те години на 20 в. и тогава е властвал феминизма и някакви странни взаимоотношения. Накратко, нищо общо с днешните романтични книги, някои от тях и забавни.
Негативите към това четиво се състоят в следното:
Книгата си имаше потенциал и от всичко по малко, но дразнещите герои провалиха всичко. Отделно, авторката остави неразвита историята на джебчията, а там книгата беше най-интересна. Според мен цялостният замисъл е добър, но историята куца.
Негативите към това четиво се състоят в следното:
Книгата си имаше потенциал и от всичко по малко, но дразнещите герои провалиха всичко. Отделно, авторката остави неразвита историята на джебчията, а там книгата беше най-интересна. Според мен цялостният замисъл е добър, но историята куца.
July 17, 2025
I really wanted to like the male lead character in this romance. He had many good qualities, but they just did not compensate for his controlling arrogance. I did like the female lead, but at times I wanted to hit her over the head for not just smacking the guy and walking away. When I read a romance, I really like an HEA. But this was not one. Oh, it led you to believe that that was the ending, but you know a marriage between the two of them is not gonna last two years.
February 23, 2020
Another Wonderful book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2021
I did not feel a connection between the two main characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2025
Not a favorite
Very contrived, did not enjoy the love of her life being that aggressive!! Not my cup of tea!! Disappointed, normally I like Barbara Delinsky!
Very contrived, did not enjoy the love of her life being that aggressive!! Not my cup of tea!! Disappointed, normally I like Barbara Delinsky!
September 28, 2011
In this tale of contrived passion, two unconvincing stereotypes clash over politicized nonsense. Can a liberated woman allow herself to feel passion the way unenlightened women in romance novels do? (Note: in which we add a layer of stereotyping that involves lumping all romance novel heroines under one label.) Does getting involved with a cop require her to sacrifice all her principles? And who is Monica, anyway? A feminist or an old-fashioned woman at heart, wanting a man to conquer her? I might be curious if I recognized these things as valid contradictions, or if I liked the man who, at one point, nearly rapes her. (Psst...liberation is a moot point after that. Assholes easily bridge the political and generational gaps.)
January 15, 2010
Tallk Show hostess,Monica, was hit by "the pickpocket" and cop, Michael, came to her aid. They were attracted to each other from the beginning but had many hangups. She was devoted to romance books and didn't like cops. He didn't like independent women.
Michael came to her aid when the pickpocket targeted Monica with more than picking her pocket.
Michael came to her aid when the pickpocket targeted Monica with more than picking her pocket.
November 1, 2011
Passion and Illusion by Barbara Delinsky
female talk show hostess via radio is hit and she gets scraped up coming out of the bookstore where she's purchased a bunch of romantic novels.
the cop that aids her drives her home while his partner gets subs for their lunch. the mugger has not put anything into her bags.
the stalker is at it and tries to get to her again.
female talk show hostess via radio is hit and she gets scraped up coming out of the bookstore where she's purchased a bunch of romantic novels.
the cop that aids her drives her home while his partner gets subs for their lunch. the mugger has not put anything into her bags.
the stalker is at it and tries to get to her again.
September 23, 2014
I'm a fan of Barbara Delinsky. This was written in 1983 and was more of a romance novel, which I enjoyed, but I much prefer her more recent novels. If you are a romance novel reader I think you will find this was satisfying, but if you are more into mysteries this may not do so. The story did, however, have a mystery to solve, but I was left in the air as to this solution.
February 22, 2009
One of the author's early books, and the theme shows it. Not terribly good, but a fast read.
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March 11, 2011started reading on 5/29/94, i guess this one was steamy cause i finished it in 2 days and i am a slow reader.
December 24, 2023
I enjoyed the storyline, of two opposites attracting, but the character of Michael Shaw rubbed me the wrong way! He might be a good police material, but as a man, he was not so good!
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