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A Perfect Passion
A perfect passion, but a less than perfect marriage -- that was the heritage Amanda Taylor and Clay McCord shared. Five years passed before they met again, and once more they felt the fire of their passion burn out of control, a conflagration to engulf the past. But from the ashes of their unhappiness their love, like the phoenix, rose afresh, new and bright and stronger than ever --a love to last for all eternity.
- GenresHarlequin
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1982
12 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Scott
63 books6 followersLibrarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 16, 2022
“I want to hurt you. I want to hurt you the way you’ve hurt me, the way you still go on hurting me.”
- Said by the H -
Oh my. This book is a jewel. I would give this book more than 5 stars.
The h is an orphan who was raised by her uncle and aunt. When her uncle becomes ill, the h takes over the management of his hotel. She reluctantly accepts the help of the H (her former husband) to get the loan she needs for the hotel. And so the book starts.
He is a besotted, passionate, manly man. I love their interaction and his wicked remarks to her. He teases her and I had to smile.
He makes this a heartwarming romance, because he is so smitten. There are so many scenes in which you can tell he loves her, but of course she doesn’t see it.
The striptease she does while he is talking on the telephone to someone and the way he reacts to her little striptease is gold.
- Said by the H -
Oh my. This book is a jewel. I would give this book more than 5 stars.
The h is an orphan who was raised by her uncle and aunt. When her uncle becomes ill, the h takes over the management of his hotel. She reluctantly accepts the help of the H (her former husband) to get the loan she needs for the hotel. And so the book starts.
He is a besotted, passionate, manly man. I love their interaction and his wicked remarks to her. He teases her and I had to smile.
He makes this a heartwarming romance, because he is so smitten. There are so many scenes in which you can tell he loves her, but of course she doesn’t see it.
The striptease she does while he is talking on the telephone to someone and the way he reacts to her little striptease is gold.
September 8, 2025
This should have been 100 pages shorter. The business meetings, descriptions of the hotel renovations, contract disputes, and market analysis of the Washington DC area went on and on and on.
The interesting stuff - why the H/h broke up, their backstories, their current thoughts and how they were going to go forward - was all done well.
Back in the day when there weren't any reality TV shows, all of this behind the scenes description would have been interesting. Now it just seems outdated and boring.
There is a good second chance romance in there - but it was lost in the fog.
The interesting stuff - why the H/h broke up, their backstories, their current thoughts and how they were going to go forward - was all done well.
Back in the day when there weren't any reality TV shows, all of this behind the scenes description would have been interesting. Now it just seems outdated and boring.
There is a good second chance romance in there - but it was lost in the fog.
September 19, 2025
H deserves way better.
March 26, 2026
This was great reading, despite the times I wanted to strangle both the H and the h! Not only was the story entertaining, but you get a good idea of how the hotel business is run, and what goes into owning one that's for the 1% of society. You have to keep up with the trends, be diplomatic at all times and too often up with people when you'd rather kick their patrician butts! There was a bit too much snobbery, too much obsession with being the best, outclassing the rest, etc. that got on my nerves a bit.
What bugged me with the h was the way she practically worshipped the ground her uncle walked on and contradicted her claim of independence by being dependent on getting his approval and never disappointing him. It's one thing to be grateful to him and her aunt for taking her in when her parents died, and for her uncle making her his heir (no cousins) and teaching her the hotel business, it's another to let him run her life! Her one rebellion - marrying the H five years before the story starts - backfired and ended up with her heartbroken and divorced.
They had their problems (he expected too much from a 20-year-old, thought she was too extravagant (she came from wealth and had to entertain a lot at the hotel so buying designer clothes was no big deal to her) and wanted her to focus more on their marriage rather than making her uncle proud. She was too insecure and quick to mistrust, which made her easy prey to her uncle's machinations, believing that the H not only had a mistress, but a baby son! End of marriage!
Naturally, she doesn't tell him about her suspicions, too much pride there, so he's left to think she only married him to rebel against her uncle, then got bored and dumped him to have fun in Paris! (In truth, she had zero fun, spending most of her time crying and staying in her hotel like a hermit.)
Five years later: her uncle's ill, the hotel needs help/money, and guess who's the man for the job????
There are some fun moments, like when she gives him an office in the hotel that's little more than a storage room, tells him to fix it up any way he likes, and he does just that, by knocking down a wall and extending into the small empty supply room next to it and designing a pretty luxurious place!
There's also the strong attraction that she's fighting while he's trying to get her to stop fighting, the usual jealousy and arguments, and - in an unusual turn of events for a HP - this time it's the h who has to grovel, when she discovers that the OW was the H's dead brother's girlfriend, and the little boy is not his son but his nephew!!!! Had she confronted him at the start rather than take her uncle's word at face value, they could have still been together (though still needing to work at their troubled marriage)!
In a world where many a fan likes to see the H grovel; I think most will agree that in this case the honor belongs to the h! And grovel she does!! She's miserable, ashamed and very sorry, and will he please forgive her?
NO WAY!!! At least, not right away! He was angry and hurt and disappointed, and who could blame him? He was now as determined to cut her out of his life as she was when she left him, and at first I was all for it! He deserved to get some of his own back, and she deserved to suffer a bit.
But then it went too far, with him turning into the suspicious one, and accusing her of using and manipulating him, even assuming she deliberately threw herself down a flight of stairs in an effort to get his sympathy! (Meanwhile, she nearly broke her neck!) It got a bit silly, until he came to his senses.
When the HEA arrives, it comes with compromises from them both, my fav being her FINALLY declaring complete independence from her uncle. She loves him and her aunt dearly, but she's going to live her own life, and leave the hotel to her recovered uncle, while if and when she ventures into hotel work again, it'll be somewhere else. THANK GOD!
Something poignant: it seems they were both heartbroken when they split up, and she wasn't the only one who cried.
It's a good story, never dull, and the flaws don't take away from it. Worth reading!
What bugged me with the h was the way she practically worshipped the ground her uncle walked on and contradicted her claim of independence by being dependent on getting his approval and never disappointing him. It's one thing to be grateful to him and her aunt for taking her in when her parents died, and for her uncle making her his heir (no cousins) and teaching her the hotel business, it's another to let him run her life! Her one rebellion - marrying the H five years before the story starts - backfired and ended up with her heartbroken and divorced.
They had their problems (he expected too much from a 20-year-old, thought she was too extravagant (she came from wealth and had to entertain a lot at the hotel so buying designer clothes was no big deal to her) and wanted her to focus more on their marriage rather than making her uncle proud. She was too insecure and quick to mistrust, which made her easy prey to her uncle's machinations, believing that the H not only had a mistress, but a baby son! End of marriage!
Naturally, she doesn't tell him about her suspicions, too much pride there, so he's left to think she only married him to rebel against her uncle, then got bored and dumped him to have fun in Paris! (In truth, she had zero fun, spending most of her time crying and staying in her hotel like a hermit.)
Five years later: her uncle's ill, the hotel needs help/money, and guess who's the man for the job????
There are some fun moments, like when she gives him an office in the hotel that's little more than a storage room, tells him to fix it up any way he likes, and he does just that, by knocking down a wall and extending into the small empty supply room next to it and designing a pretty luxurious place!
There's also the strong attraction that she's fighting while he's trying to get her to stop fighting, the usual jealousy and arguments, and - in an unusual turn of events for a HP - this time it's the h who has to grovel, when she discovers that the OW was the H's dead brother's girlfriend, and the little boy is not his son but his nephew!!!! Had she confronted him at the start rather than take her uncle's word at face value, they could have still been together (though still needing to work at their troubled marriage)!
In a world where many a fan likes to see the H grovel; I think most will agree that in this case the honor belongs to the h! And grovel she does!! She's miserable, ashamed and very sorry, and will he please forgive her?
NO WAY!!! At least, not right away! He was angry and hurt and disappointed, and who could blame him? He was now as determined to cut her out of his life as she was when she left him, and at first I was all for it! He deserved to get some of his own back, and she deserved to suffer a bit.
But then it went too far, with him turning into the suspicious one, and accusing her of using and manipulating him, even assuming she deliberately threw herself down a flight of stairs in an effort to get his sympathy! (Meanwhile, she nearly broke her neck!) It got a bit silly, until he came to his senses.
When the HEA arrives, it comes with compromises from them both, my fav being her FINALLY declaring complete independence from her uncle. She loves him and her aunt dearly, but she's going to live her own life, and leave the hotel to her recovered uncle, while if and when she ventures into hotel work again, it'll be somewhere else. THANK GOD!
Something poignant: it seems they were both heartbroken when they split up, and she wasn't the only one who cried.
It's a good story, never dull, and the flaws don't take away from it. Worth reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews