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Unwilling Heart
"You'll be a great asset," her father had said
And Amalie "O'Malley" Kent let herself be persuaded to accompany him to Turkey. She'd taken it in her stride, too, when an earthquake left her stranded with an intriguing stranger.
But she was far from calm when she realized that her companion wasn't a stranger at all, and that she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She'd been kidnapped!
O'Malley was furious. She knew she should hate this man--her father's sworn enemy. Yet he was nothing like she had expected. .. and much too easy to love.
And Amalie "O'Malley" Kent let herself be persuaded to accompany him to Turkey. She'd taken it in her stride, too, when an earthquake left her stranded with an intriguing stranger.
But she was far from calm when she realized that her companion wasn't a stranger at all, and that she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She'd been kidnapped!
O'Malley was furious. She knew she should hate this man--her father's sworn enemy. Yet he was nothing like she had expected. .. and much too easy to love.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 22, 2020
4/2/22 updated to add artist info. A beautiful atmospheric background and passionate denim clad couple by Ray Olivere. Here the RO is covered up by the marketing medallion—I hate when Harlequin clutters the covers with this ticky-tacky nonsense.
Unwilling Heart has a strong opening, a well written ending and a somewhat messy, illogical middle that's over-reliant on the obfuscations of the two leads, a pair of sexy dolts who can scrabble out of a collapsed ruin but otherwise can't reason their way out of a paper bag.
There isn't much logic to why they're in the position they're in and I should know better than to even try to get sense out of it but among other things: why are they staying in an isolated hovel when Luc, his daughter and his millionaire best friend/henchman (who is basically there living out his survivalist fantasies) could simply hire another boat and sail away out of what seems to be imaginary danger? Especially with a child who's recovering from serious illness and after the H sustained a significant injury?
Anyway the guys are just having too much fun with their rebels-in-hiding cosplay and the h is enjoying washing her only pair of undies every night and being on the receiving end of smoldering looks from Luc's beautiful green eyes for anyone to act sensibly. It's daft but fun.
Harder to accept is the way he's absolved of his jerk behavior and vicious tongue. Dude, you are responsible for your own mean character and I don't believe for a second you can't help it. But why change when unloading only on very specific others gives you a nasty dopamine hit and everyone excuses you for it?
Luckily O'Malley isn't a pushover and she's able to articulate her feelings. This interchange was excellent:
'Stupid?' she echoed, staring at him incredulously. 'Did you expect me to shrug off your insults? dismiss them? I was hurt dammit!'
'I know,' he admitted wearily. 'I'm sorry.'
'Sorry?' she repeated. 'And that makes it right? Cancels it all out?' Giving a defeated little sigh and hating herself for the need to know, she looked down, then asked quietly, 'did you mean them? Those things you said?'
'Oh, O'Malley! Of course I didn't mean them. I was angry, hurt, lashing out...'
'But you must have thought them, or you wouldn't have said them, would you?' she persisted. Looking up, only to find he was staring at her as though he'd never seen her before in his life, she hastily turned her back and resumed her contemplation of the damp garden.
'I thought them true of the woman I thought you were,' he said carefully."
Given O'Malley's strength of character it wasn't hard to believe, what with all the self-justifying insincerity of this initial attempt to apologize and explain, that he'd be sent packing. Good job h and author. But it is HPLandia so inevitably she seeks him out. Even though Luc has maybe been nice to her for a total of about 30 minutes ever; she's in love and righteous indignation doesn't keep a gal warm at night. Graciously offered the position of wifenanny with benefits and some bling on her finger, she accepts responsibility for his daughter, their future children and according to him, the task of keeping his bad temper in check yikes! for a charming (?) but slightly ominous HEA.
Unwilling Heart has a strong opening, a well written ending and a somewhat messy, illogical middle that's over-reliant on the obfuscations of the two leads, a pair of sexy dolts who can scrabble out of a collapsed ruin but otherwise can't reason their way out of a paper bag.
There isn't much logic to why they're in the position they're in and I should know better than to even try to get sense out of it but among other things: why are they staying in an isolated hovel when Luc, his daughter and his millionaire best friend/henchman (who is basically there living out his survivalist fantasies) could simply hire another boat and sail away out of what seems to be imaginary danger? Especially with a child who's recovering from serious illness and after the H sustained a significant injury?
Anyway the guys are just having too much fun with their rebels-in-hiding cosplay and the h is enjoying washing her only pair of undies every night and being on the receiving end of smoldering looks from Luc's beautiful green eyes for anyone to act sensibly. It's daft but fun.
Harder to accept is the way he's absolved of his jerk behavior and vicious tongue. Dude, you are responsible for your own mean character and I don't believe for a second you can't help it. But why change when unloading only on very specific others gives you a nasty dopamine hit and everyone excuses you for it?
Luckily O'Malley isn't a pushover and she's able to articulate her feelings. This interchange was excellent:
'Stupid?' she echoed, staring at him incredulously. 'Did you expect me to shrug off your insults? dismiss them? I was hurt dammit!'
'I know,' he admitted wearily. 'I'm sorry.'
'Sorry?' she repeated. 'And that makes it right? Cancels it all out?' Giving a defeated little sigh and hating herself for the need to know, she looked down, then asked quietly, 'did you mean them? Those things you said?'
'Oh, O'Malley! Of course I didn't mean them. I was angry, hurt, lashing out...'
'But you must have thought them, or you wouldn't have said them, would you?' she persisted. Looking up, only to find he was staring at her as though he'd never seen her before in his life, she hastily turned her back and resumed her contemplation of the damp garden.
'I thought them true of the woman I thought you were,' he said carefully."
Given O'Malley's strength of character it wasn't hard to believe, what with all the self-justifying insincerity of this initial attempt to apologize and explain, that he'd be sent packing. Good job h and author. But it is HPLandia so inevitably she seeks him out. Even though Luc has maybe been nice to her for a total of about 30 minutes ever; she's in love and righteous indignation doesn't keep a gal warm at night. Graciously offered the position of wifenanny with benefits and some bling on her finger, she accepts responsibility for his daughter, their future children and according to him, the task of keeping his bad temper in check yikes! for a charming (?) but slightly ominous HEA.
April 2, 2022
An earthquake in Turkey kicks this great, big, terrible misunderstanding off to an interesting start. Hero thinks she's a reporter. She thinks he's a property developer. They barely escape being crushed to death in the ruins of a monastery, before they realize the hero is injured and needs help. The h drives them to barely inhabitable house where a five-year-old child and a millionaire in disguise are waiting for them. Yes, that setup is confusing and even with the hero's long explanation in the last chapter, it really doesn't make sense.
As with other stories by this author, the heroine is very beautiful and the hero leaps to all kinds of conclusions, which badly hurts the heroine. But in this case he's not cruel enough to be past redemption and grovels nicely, so I could believe their HEA.
Boogenhagen has done all the heavy lifting and has all the details in her excellent review.
As with other stories by this author, the heroine is very beautiful and the hero leaps to all kinds of conclusions, which badly hurts the heroine. But in this case he's not cruel enough to be past redemption and grovels nicely, so I could believe their HEA.
Boogenhagen has done all the heavy lifting and has all the details in her excellent review.
February 20, 2017
Re Unwilling Heart - Emma Richmond makes her second HP appearance with a 27 yr old free spirited h who is drafted by her conservationist dad to help him check out a dubious land developer in Turkey. Unfortunately, unforeseen events occur which strand the h with the developer she is supposed to be investigating, or so she thinks.
This one starts with the h in Turkey and wandering around some old monastery ruins that her father had told her to meet him at. It seems there is a plan to tear down the ruins and put a big resort in, the h isn't too worried when her father isn't there on time, he often gets side tracked and shows up way later than planned. The h is currently working as a journalistic writer for a failing magazine, she thinks they are about to close down and she will have to find another job, but it doesn't worry her too much, cause she likes to try different things out and frequently has in the past.
She finds a man she had noticed in the hotel lobby earlier at the monastery. Since she has given up on her father's arrival, he must have gotten distracted, she needs a lift back to town. The man refuses, he isn't going the same way. The h assumes that this is the property developer, checking out the area for resort potential. They share some friendly banter and the h calls him Paget, which actually isn't his name, but she heard a woman in the hotel lobby say that to him and assumed it was a formal address.
All of the sudden, there is a big earth shaking, (right when there eyes are meeting,) but this isn't the thunderbolt of love. The monastery and the land around have collapsed and the man and the h are trapped underneath it. They eventually managed to work there way out, but it takes hours and the man is injured. He directs the h to a battered old truck, where the actual thunderbolt of love strikes the h hard in a breathless, life changing instant.
The H doesn't seem to acknowledge anything happened and directs the h to an isolated cottage waaay off the beaten track. The main road is no longer there, it is just a long chasm. The h thinks an earthquake must have hit and she is desperately worried about her father. She calls her dad by his first name, and the man assumes the guy she calls Nick is her lover. The h puts him straight on it, but he doesn't seem to believe her.
There is also a little girl at the cottage and she is the H's daughter. Another Greek guy, who is the H's friend, is present too, and he soon wanders off to check on the aftermath of the earthquake. The h does her best to doctor up the H's leg, but it needs stitches and antibiotics and the h is no doctor. The h spends a few days with the H and his daughter, the H's leg is getting worse and the Greek friend reports back that the village was destroyed when he returns. While he was gone, the h was definitely feeling the lurve mojo and the H was certainly getting some roofie kisses in. When the Greek friend returns, the H gets really hostile and accuses the h of lying about her name and being a journalist. He won't let the h leave, and threatens to tie her up.
The h is completely confused, the H is throwing all these accusations at her and she is trying to explain that she only wants to know about potential property development, but the H doesn't want to know and he accuses her of all kinds of malicious and spiteful things and really hurts the h's feelings.
The rest of the day is spent with the two avoiding each other and the h hanging out with the little girl, who seems kinda weak and fragile, instead. The next morning the h wakes up and they are gone. She makes it back to town and finds out that it was only a landslide and nothing has been destroyed, the town is fine and the Greek friend told the h's father that she had gone to another town. The h's dad was really worried, but they are happily reunited and the property development can't happen now, cause the land where it was to be built is gone. The h finds out that her land developer H isn't a land developer, he is a big time war/disaster photographer and goes all over the world. His name isn't Paget either, that was the brand of clothing he was wearing.
The h is miserable cause she is in love and now she will never have a chance to explore it because of a big misunderstanding. There is a tall blonde woman wandering the town, (the h is tall and blonde herself,) and she is asking people if they have seen the H and showing around a picture of him. The h and her father deny knowing the H and then the Greek friend shows up again. The H is in hospital and the Greek friend needs someone to watch the H's little girl. She is scared and asking for the h. The h goes of course and the Greek friend takes her to a private island with a luxury hideaway home.
The H shows up a bit later, he checked himself out of the hospital and the h resolves to use the time to maybe start a relationship. The H is pretty knackered tho, so he doesn't do anything but sleep for the next few days. As soon as he is up on his feet, he accuses the h of being a mercenary tart willing to sell people out for a story.
He calls her a user and arrogant and it really devastates her, cause she knows she tends to keep a lot of things in and project a lot of positive attitude and she likes to joke a lot, but this is the man she loves decimating her character and it shakes her confidence pretty badly. The man she is head over heels for is completely rejecting her. She gets the Greek friend to take her to the nearest mainland, and she wanders around Europe for a month or so before heading back to England.
When she gets home, she goes to see her dad and he tells her the H has been looking for her. The h is having a little self-identity crisis and her dad reassures her. Then the H shows up. He wants to apologize for his very bad behavior.
He explains that he married his daughter's mother when he was between really ugly photo assignments. She was a really sweet, innocent girl who always agreed with whatever he said and wanted to escape her very conservative and domineering parents. The parents hated him and his wife was very much against any physical intimacy because of her upbringing.
He married her on impulse, without really getting to know her and she married to just get away period and have some one nicer take care of her. But they were very badly matched and so they soon devolved into a platonic relationship after the wife became preggers. The H gave up on foreign assignments to support the wife during her pregnancy, then after his daughter turned three, he went overseas on assignment again. But he got caught and imprisoned for a short while, and his wife died while he was missing, from peritonitis cause she wouldn't go to the doctor.
The wife's parents took the daughter and when the H got back, they kidnapped her even tho he had custody. He spent a long time tracking the daughter down, cause the parents knew they were in the wrong but hated the H and the H was determined that they weren't going to ruin his child they way they ruined his wife. (She was totally dependent and couldn't take care of herself.) When the H and h met, he had just kidnapped his daughter back and they were hiding out.
The Greek friend that the h thought was a hobo was actually a Greek Tycoon, (and probably should have been the H in a different story,) and he was helping the H stay off the grid until the grandparents could be informed that they were in big trouble unless they backed off. The H thought that the h was the other blonde lady who had been showing his photo around town.
That blonde eventually tracked him to the Greek friend's private island, but got thrown off before she could cause any trouble. The H knows the h had nothing to do with it and never lied about her name, which is actually Amalie, but everyone calls her O'Malley cause no one can say it correctly.
The H wants to start over, but the h is not sure. The H damaged her confidence a lot and she is still doing her soul searching. She gives the H a good verbal smackdown and sends him off. Eventually the h decides that she has to take the chance, cause in her family they fall in love forever when the right pair of eyeballs meets theirs. The h goes to the H's latest photo exhibit and the H shows up and sweeps her off for a whole chapter of lurvin it up groveling and banter which shouldn't be missed for the big HEA.
This one was very good. The H wasn't really horrible, but he did do some trauma to the h and it was believable how they worked thru it. The only drawback of the story was the insta love and lack of time the H and h spent together. However that whole last chapter with the H groveling and the big love confessions goes a really long way to making this HEA absolutely believable and a great outing in HPlandia.
This one starts with the h in Turkey and wandering around some old monastery ruins that her father had told her to meet him at. It seems there is a plan to tear down the ruins and put a big resort in, the h isn't too worried when her father isn't there on time, he often gets side tracked and shows up way later than planned. The h is currently working as a journalistic writer for a failing magazine, she thinks they are about to close down and she will have to find another job, but it doesn't worry her too much, cause she likes to try different things out and frequently has in the past.
She finds a man she had noticed in the hotel lobby earlier at the monastery. Since she has given up on her father's arrival, he must have gotten distracted, she needs a lift back to town. The man refuses, he isn't going the same way. The h assumes that this is the property developer, checking out the area for resort potential. They share some friendly banter and the h calls him Paget, which actually isn't his name, but she heard a woman in the hotel lobby say that to him and assumed it was a formal address.
All of the sudden, there is a big earth shaking, (right when there eyes are meeting,) but this isn't the thunderbolt of love. The monastery and the land around have collapsed and the man and the h are trapped underneath it. They eventually managed to work there way out, but it takes hours and the man is injured. He directs the h to a battered old truck, where the actual thunderbolt of love strikes the h hard in a breathless, life changing instant.
The H doesn't seem to acknowledge anything happened and directs the h to an isolated cottage waaay off the beaten track. The main road is no longer there, it is just a long chasm. The h thinks an earthquake must have hit and she is desperately worried about her father. She calls her dad by his first name, and the man assumes the guy she calls Nick is her lover. The h puts him straight on it, but he doesn't seem to believe her.
There is also a little girl at the cottage and she is the H's daughter. Another Greek guy, who is the H's friend, is present too, and he soon wanders off to check on the aftermath of the earthquake. The h does her best to doctor up the H's leg, but it needs stitches and antibiotics and the h is no doctor. The h spends a few days with the H and his daughter, the H's leg is getting worse and the Greek friend reports back that the village was destroyed when he returns. While he was gone, the h was definitely feeling the lurve mojo and the H was certainly getting some roofie kisses in. When the Greek friend returns, the H gets really hostile and accuses the h of lying about her name and being a journalist. He won't let the h leave, and threatens to tie her up.
The h is completely confused, the H is throwing all these accusations at her and she is trying to explain that she only wants to know about potential property development, but the H doesn't want to know and he accuses her of all kinds of malicious and spiteful things and really hurts the h's feelings.
The rest of the day is spent with the two avoiding each other and the h hanging out with the little girl, who seems kinda weak and fragile, instead. The next morning the h wakes up and they are gone. She makes it back to town and finds out that it was only a landslide and nothing has been destroyed, the town is fine and the Greek friend told the h's father that she had gone to another town. The h's dad was really worried, but they are happily reunited and the property development can't happen now, cause the land where it was to be built is gone. The h finds out that her land developer H isn't a land developer, he is a big time war/disaster photographer and goes all over the world. His name isn't Paget either, that was the brand of clothing he was wearing.
The h is miserable cause she is in love and now she will never have a chance to explore it because of a big misunderstanding. There is a tall blonde woman wandering the town, (the h is tall and blonde herself,) and she is asking people if they have seen the H and showing around a picture of him. The h and her father deny knowing the H and then the Greek friend shows up again. The H is in hospital and the Greek friend needs someone to watch the H's little girl. She is scared and asking for the h. The h goes of course and the Greek friend takes her to a private island with a luxury hideaway home.
The H shows up a bit later, he checked himself out of the hospital and the h resolves to use the time to maybe start a relationship. The H is pretty knackered tho, so he doesn't do anything but sleep for the next few days. As soon as he is up on his feet, he accuses the h of being a mercenary tart willing to sell people out for a story.
He calls her a user and arrogant and it really devastates her, cause she knows she tends to keep a lot of things in and project a lot of positive attitude and she likes to joke a lot, but this is the man she loves decimating her character and it shakes her confidence pretty badly. The man she is head over heels for is completely rejecting her. She gets the Greek friend to take her to the nearest mainland, and she wanders around Europe for a month or so before heading back to England.
When she gets home, she goes to see her dad and he tells her the H has been looking for her. The h is having a little self-identity crisis and her dad reassures her. Then the H shows up. He wants to apologize for his very bad behavior.
He explains that he married his daughter's mother when he was between really ugly photo assignments. She was a really sweet, innocent girl who always agreed with whatever he said and wanted to escape her very conservative and domineering parents. The parents hated him and his wife was very much against any physical intimacy because of her upbringing.
He married her on impulse, without really getting to know her and she married to just get away period and have some one nicer take care of her. But they were very badly matched and so they soon devolved into a platonic relationship after the wife became preggers. The H gave up on foreign assignments to support the wife during her pregnancy, then after his daughter turned three, he went overseas on assignment again. But he got caught and imprisoned for a short while, and his wife died while he was missing, from peritonitis cause she wouldn't go to the doctor.
The wife's parents took the daughter and when the H got back, they kidnapped her even tho he had custody. He spent a long time tracking the daughter down, cause the parents knew they were in the wrong but hated the H and the H was determined that they weren't going to ruin his child they way they ruined his wife. (She was totally dependent and couldn't take care of herself.) When the H and h met, he had just kidnapped his daughter back and they were hiding out.
The Greek friend that the h thought was a hobo was actually a Greek Tycoon, (and probably should have been the H in a different story,) and he was helping the H stay off the grid until the grandparents could be informed that they were in big trouble unless they backed off. The H thought that the h was the other blonde lady who had been showing his photo around town.
That blonde eventually tracked him to the Greek friend's private island, but got thrown off before she could cause any trouble. The H knows the h had nothing to do with it and never lied about her name, which is actually Amalie, but everyone calls her O'Malley cause no one can say it correctly.
The H wants to start over, but the h is not sure. The H damaged her confidence a lot and she is still doing her soul searching. She gives the H a good verbal smackdown and sends him off. Eventually the h decides that she has to take the chance, cause in her family they fall in love forever when the right pair of eyeballs meets theirs. The h goes to the H's latest photo exhibit and the H shows up and sweeps her off for a whole chapter of lurvin it up groveling and banter which shouldn't be missed for the big HEA.
This one was very good. The H wasn't really horrible, but he did do some trauma to the h and it was believable how they worked thru it. The only drawback of the story was the insta love and lack of time the H and h spent together. However that whole last chapter with the H groveling and the big love confessions goes a really long way to making this HEA absolutely believable and a great outing in HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2013
Mistaken identities, 1 big mis after anotha, acehole single dad hero unloaded harsh & uncalled-for insults in heroine's face which rattled her confidence, angsty to the max, he shoulda grovelled & eaten humble pies 4evah. Setting : Turkey & island off Greece.
September 12, 2023
This didn't feel quite as formulaic as many I've read recently. In fact I wasn't exactly sure what was going on at first, when the 2 leads appeared to be in a Turkish monastery when an earthquake struck and dug themselves out, and I couldn't get my head around the need for them to be holed up in a shack. Anyhow, what really made this a 3.75 star read for me was the h, o'Malley (a corruption of Amalie apparently) who was sparky, vivacious and courageous. The H, Paget (aka Luc) was a very cool customer and it was very easy to identify with the h's burning unrequited lust. He blew very hot and cold, with a lot of emphasis on the cold. The presence of his constantly tired 6 year old daughter, Jenny and the rough but sympathetic Stavros added to the mystery. Basically many crossed wires on identity, although the H was incredibly cruel in dismissing o' Malley (after she'd been so kind and patient with his daughter and tending his wound) and giving her a complete crisis of confidence. He does make up for it in the final pages. New to me author, will seek out her others as this was well paced and well written.
May 12, 2022
2.5 ⭐️ 🌟🌟This has a relationship which develops in middle of catastrophe (earthquake/landslide?). I thought her depression after H’s insults were OTT! She had known him a week. I wasn’t buying the whole soul-searching- deep self- analyzing she did for weeks after his mean insults. I could understand being sad about H not reciprocating feelings, but to neurose over his angry insults was silly.
August 5, 2021
Parts were excellent with good secondary characters. I didn't care so much for the 2 main characters.
July 4, 2012
I liked the plot to this one a lot better then the others. I of course did not like that they found out they were in love until the last minute, again. I hope to get into the other kinds that I have and it be a better story all around. I do have a lot of them that I need to read.
As for this story the plot was that the girl is saved then kidnapped by the same man. That I love, to have that kind of adventure in these stories and books make the story better. To me action in a romance makes the reading a lot easier and more fun.
As for this story the plot was that the girl is saved then kidnapped by the same man. That I love, to have that kind of adventure in these stories and books make the story better. To me action in a romance makes the reading a lot easier and more fun.
June 7, 2018
You'll be a great asset," her father had said
And Amalie "O'Malley" Kent let herself be persuaded to accompany him to Turkey. She'd taken it in her stride, too, when an earthquake left her stranded with an intriguing stranger.
But she was far from calm when she realized that her companion wasn't a stranger at all, and that she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She'd been kidnapped!
O'Malley was furious. She knew she should hate this man - her father's sworn enemy. Yet he was nothing like she had expected...and much too easy to love.
And Amalie "O'Malley" Kent let herself be persuaded to accompany him to Turkey. She'd taken it in her stride, too, when an earthquake left her stranded with an intriguing stranger.
But she was far from calm when she realized that her companion wasn't a stranger at all, and that she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She'd been kidnapped!
O'Malley was furious. She knew she should hate this man - her father's sworn enemy. Yet he was nothing like she had expected...and much too easy to love.
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