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Husband'S Revenge
Forgotten husband!
After waking up in a hospital bed, Clare couldn't even remember her own name, let alone who she was married to! When Jos introduced himself as her husband, he was a complete stranger to her....
Clare couldn't deny the sparks of sexual attraction between her and Jos, but she sensed a deeper bond between them. Was it simply the love between man and wife--or something dark and dangerous? Clare was about to find out if Jos really wanted a reunion, or revenge....
After waking up in a hospital bed, Clare couldn't even remember her own name, let alone who she was married to! When Jos introduced himself as her husband, he was a complete stranger to her....
Clare couldn't deny the sparks of sexual attraction between her and Jos, but she sensed a deeper bond between them. Was it simply the love between man and wife--or something dark and dangerous? Clare was about to find out if Jos really wanted a reunion, or revenge....
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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August 27, 2018
Amnesia and Revenge. And a trip to Niagara Falls complete with ride on the Maid of the Mist for the honeymoon. Yes, we are in vintage land - where motivations are murky, heroines think they can soothe the savage beast with love, and the H/h's childhoods are the stuff of gothic novels.
So this is quite the combo of elements. The story opens with the heroine waking up in an emergency room in a "rough" part of NYC. She hit her head and has amnesia. Hero has been looking for her all day and night and finally tracks her down. Heroine is attracted to him, but doesn't feel married to him and she was not wearing a wedding ring. But hero has a Polaroid photo of their wedding day (h later finds out they were married in England two days before) and heroine goes home with him to his penthouse apartment. Heroine is afraid of heights but doesn't know why.
The H/h decide to go to that hot spot destination and fly into Buffalo. *smirk* There is a lot of travelogue. The hero explains his hatred/cynicism about women, he thinks the heroine married him for money, etc . . . The heroine starts to hear stories about her dead parents (and promiscuous mother) and some of the hero's hardscrabble background.
When they finally have sex, the hero discovers the heroine is a virgin. He thought she would have been as promiscuous as her mother.
When they return to NYC, they go to a party on one of the floors below. Here heroine meets his former mistress and finds out the hero knew her mother and they were photographed in the tabloids together. Heroine thinks the hero and her mother were lovers and that she is just a substitute, but the hero tells her he was never intimate with her mother and that he hated the woman. Heroine is forced (ha!) to believe him after some dub con sex. (Their favorite kind - hero is rapey and violent and rough and heroine loves it throughout the story).
Later on, there's a cute scene with the heroine playing poker with the butler. She couldn't remember if she was good at cards or not, but it turns out she was.
Finally they return to England for the heroine to wrap up her inheritance by selling the house she grew up in. There the heroine remembers everything and truth finally comes out with the heroine remembering a suicide and doing some sleuthing on her own about railing heights and reading her mother's diary. Turns out hero was angry at the wrong woman. Ooops.
Hero spends one nano second regretting putting the heroine through the wringer (and wasting his life on hate). Heroine is just happy they can settle down and have babies.
I didn't want to give to much away about the H/h childhoods because it's all revealed at the end and it's complicated. Suffice to say, hero was always mean, and heroine put up with his cruelty even at 8 years old.
They were imprinted, y'all. That's the only way to explain this dynamic.
This is a double amnesia story - the heroine only remembers she knew the hero as a child when they are exchanging wedding vows and she hears his full name. Then she forgets him a second time in NYC.
Read for the doling out of information - LW does a masterful job with this. The pacing is excellent as is the menace from the hero. Is this true love? I suppose. They were both pretty messed up.
Triggers - dubious consent, violent handsy hero, suicide described from the past.
So this is quite the combo of elements. The story opens with the heroine waking up in an emergency room in a "rough" part of NYC. She hit her head and has amnesia. Hero has been looking for her all day and night and finally tracks her down. Heroine is attracted to him, but doesn't feel married to him and she was not wearing a wedding ring. But hero has a Polaroid photo of their wedding day (h later finds out they were married in England two days before) and heroine goes home with him to his penthouse apartment. Heroine is afraid of heights but doesn't know why.
The H/h decide to go to that hot spot destination and fly into Buffalo. *smirk* There is a lot of travelogue. The hero explains his hatred/cynicism about women, he thinks the heroine married him for money, etc . . . The heroine starts to hear stories about her dead parents (and promiscuous mother) and some of the hero's hardscrabble background.
When they finally have sex, the hero discovers the heroine is a virgin. He thought she would have been as promiscuous as her mother.
When they return to NYC, they go to a party on one of the floors below. Here heroine meets his former mistress and finds out the hero knew her mother and they were photographed in the tabloids together. Heroine thinks the hero and her mother were lovers and that she is just a substitute, but the hero tells her he was never intimate with her mother and that he hated the woman. Heroine is forced (ha!) to believe him after some dub con sex. (Their favorite kind - hero is rapey and violent and rough and heroine loves it throughout the story).
Later on, there's a cute scene with the heroine playing poker with the butler. She couldn't remember if she was good at cards or not, but it turns out she was.
Finally they return to England for the heroine to wrap up her inheritance by selling the house she grew up in. There the heroine remembers everything and truth finally comes out with the heroine remembering a suicide and doing some sleuthing on her own about railing heights and reading her mother's diary. Turns out hero was angry at the wrong woman. Ooops.
Hero spends one nano second regretting putting the heroine through the wringer (and wasting his life on hate). Heroine is just happy they can settle down and have babies.
I didn't want to give to much away about the H/h childhoods because it's all revealed at the end and it's complicated. Suffice to say, hero was always mean, and heroine put up with his cruelty even at 8 years old.
They were imprinted, y'all. That's the only way to explain this dynamic.
This is a double amnesia story - the heroine only remembers she knew the hero as a child when they are exchanging wedding vows and she hears his full name. Then she forgets him a second time in NYC.
Read for the doling out of information - LW does a masterful job with this. The pacing is excellent as is the menace from the hero. Is this true love? I suppose. They were both pretty messed up.
Triggers - dubious consent, violent handsy hero, suicide described from the past.
March 14, 2019
Re A Husband's Revenge - Lee Wilkinson has pledged herself to never let an Angry Nematode Margaret Pargeter/Lilian Peake type HP H fade away into the mists of HPlandia.
She brings us AMNESIA and a totally non-pc forced seduction in a marriage of revenge HP outing. This book is very much a mystery up to the bitter end, but in true HP spoilierization style, I am revealing the big seekrits before I get to the mechanics of the plot.
The h in this one is the target of the angry, bitter and abusive H. He blames the h's mother for ruining his life and forcing his own mother to commit suicide, then his drunken father died in a car crash soon after. Since the h's mother isn't available to punish, the H figures the h will make a nice substitute.
Especially because after his mother's death, the h's parents were prepared to offer the H a home, but the h's hysterics when it was talked about put the kibbitz on that plot and the H had a bad time growing up, tho he is massively rich now from an unexpected inheritance left by his grandfather.
(Tho really the H shouldn't have surprised at the h's childhood hysterics. The h was 8 when his mother died and the H was 13. The dramatic leap happened at the h's family home when the H's drunken mother supposedly threw herself over the house's upper story balustrades after an assumed argument with the h's mother -which makes the H suggest she was having an affair with his father and demanding that his father divorce his mother.
The very little h had laughed in shock over the H's mother's death - it happened right in front of them- and the H slugged her in the face hard enough to leave a bruise. The H had always tormented the h, so of course she wasn't going to take having him in her home full time with any degree of equanimity.)
The h physically resembles her mother a lot, but while both of the h's parents were heavily into affairs and had an unhappy open marriage until their death in a plane crash, the h is the epitome of reticence and has kept her unicorn grooming license intact for 25 years.
This H is blind to everything but his own pain and outrage, so he he assumes that the h is probably a gold digger looking for a rich man to give her the lucrative life style option. Even tho the h had apparently disowned her family, was earning her own living as a real estate agent when the H went to seek her out, the H just had to put his grand plan o'vengeance into action.
We know the H is wrong of course, because when the book opens the h is horribly confused and scared and LW does a great job of conveying the h's terror about going off with a man she doesn't even remember marrying.
There is also the H's own words about how initially the h refused to go out with him, no matter how much cash the H flashed around.
The H collects the h from the hospital when the book starts and the h reluctantly accepts that she is his wife. There is a sense of very violent lurve force mojo between them and the h feels the chills running down her spine when the H describes how they met and their recent life.
The H claims they have only been married a short time, they met in England when the H went to buy a house. They had a whirlwind courtship after the H wore the h down enough to see him and then they went to NYC for the honeymoon.
The H relays that they argued soon after their arrival, there was something in the marriage ceremony that scared and jolted the h. The H had an important business meeting and the h abandoned all her things and took off. She apparently was mugged and the H eventually found her in a charity hospital, which brings us to the story's start where the H and h have only been married for two days.
So now the h is shackled to the H and like the best HP H Villains of Olde, he frequently infers that he has very nefarious plans and the tart shaming of the h for her supposed gold diggery is massive. The H sweeps the h off to Niagara Falls and we get a little HP travelogue.
The h's actual gold digging capacity is tested when the H tries to buy her a fancy watch to replace the one her parents gave her that was stolen. The h wins the contest of wills when she insists on having a moderately priced, functional watch.
The H is furious about this, cause he promised not to rape the h and now can't force her to provide lurve club events in payment for pricey accouterments via emotional blackmail. That doesn't stop his roofie punishing kisses tho and the h feels a reluctant Treacherous Body Syndrome start to build.
Eventually the H's libido overrules the h's reluctance and the h believes she does love the H, even tho she still hasn't remembered anything. We get lots of borderline forced seduction scenes after the H is surprised by the h's chastity and the H crows about how the previously untouched h can be 'trained' to his style of boudoir deeds.
The h is still struggling with her missing memory and her sense that she can't trust the H. It turns out she was right when they go to party and the H's dumped mistress convinces the h that the H is using her as sub for her mother. There is a picture of the H and the h's mother kissing in a gossip magazine before her death.
(Tho to the H's credit he openly humiliates the former flame, so this H is just a misogynistic hater all around and he claims the h's mother was kissing him and he was repulsed.)
This totally freaks the h out, as it should, and the H threatens to lock the h up in a mental hospital if she tries to leave him. The lurve club events get more forceful and read as more degrading and the h decides that she will use the power of her love to fight for her man and save him from his own inner demons.
After a lot of H bullying and the h being a TSTL nitwit, the H and h return to England and to the h's childhood home. The h finally gets her memory back and figures out that this isn't the first time she has taken refuge in a memory fugue state.
After the horror of H's mother's death, the h asked to go to boarding school and managed to erase all memory of the H. The h did not recognize the H again until their marriage ceremony, when she learned the H's very unusual first name and her memories came back.
This was the reason the h left the first time, but now she is determined to endure the tortures of Hades to win over her H.
Now that the h remembers everything, the H is all about going for a ten on the h emotional torture and guilt scale. However the H doesn't have much page count left to get enmeshed in his degradation of the h, because the h finds her mother's diary and finally the truth comes out.
It was the H's mother who was having the affair with the h's philandering father. The H's mother asked for the divorce and then learned that she was just a piece to pike on the h's father's side.
The h's mother felt bad for her friend, but the h's father's rejection when the woman thought she was in love was too much and she fell over the very balustrade in the midst of an alcohol fueled emotional fit.
Therefore the H's mother's death was actually an accident and since the bad woman scandalous behavior was on the H's mother's side, he has no reason to punish the h anymore and his years of revenge were totally stupid because he got everything all wrong.
The H reluctantly realizes his grand plan o'vengeance will have to be put aside and the h declares she loves him. Since they now have a really nice country home, the h can have a gadzillion kids and continue on as the H's broodmare sex toy for another epicly whacktastick LW Trainwreck HP HEA.
This one is five stars for the massive angst and wrecky drama, but this H is a utter nematode slime slurper for almost all of the book and the h's idiocy and acceptance of the H's threats and abuse makes the romance portion a one.
The H never redeems himself and there is NO grovel, the H simply isn't sorry that he tormented the h for so long for things that were never her fault.
His behavior and the h's brainwashed martyrdom got him a compliant doormat and broodmare by the end, so if you love the massive whacktasticness of utter trainwreck avalanches, this will definitely be a very enjoyable HP outing.
She brings us AMNESIA and a totally non-pc forced seduction in a marriage of revenge HP outing. This book is very much a mystery up to the bitter end, but in true HP spoilierization style, I am revealing the big seekrits before I get to the mechanics of the plot.
The h in this one is the target of the angry, bitter and abusive H. He blames the h's mother for ruining his life and forcing his own mother to commit suicide, then his drunken father died in a car crash soon after. Since the h's mother isn't available to punish, the H figures the h will make a nice substitute.
Especially because after his mother's death, the h's parents were prepared to offer the H a home, but the h's hysterics when it was talked about put the kibbitz on that plot and the H had a bad time growing up, tho he is massively rich now from an unexpected inheritance left by his grandfather.
(Tho really the H shouldn't have surprised at the h's childhood hysterics. The h was 8 when his mother died and the H was 13. The dramatic leap happened at the h's family home when the H's drunken mother supposedly threw herself over the house's upper story balustrades after an assumed argument with the h's mother -which makes the H suggest she was having an affair with his father and demanding that his father divorce his mother.
The very little h had laughed in shock over the H's mother's death - it happened right in front of them- and the H slugged her in the face hard enough to leave a bruise. The H had always tormented the h, so of course she wasn't going to take having him in her home full time with any degree of equanimity.)
The h physically resembles her mother a lot, but while both of the h's parents were heavily into affairs and had an unhappy open marriage until their death in a plane crash, the h is the epitome of reticence and has kept her unicorn grooming license intact for 25 years.
This H is blind to everything but his own pain and outrage, so he he assumes that the h is probably a gold digger looking for a rich man to give her the lucrative life style option. Even tho the h had apparently disowned her family, was earning her own living as a real estate agent when the H went to seek her out, the H just had to put his grand plan o'vengeance into action.
We know the H is wrong of course, because when the book opens the h is horribly confused and scared and LW does a great job of conveying the h's terror about going off with a man she doesn't even remember marrying.
There is also the H's own words about how initially the h refused to go out with him, no matter how much cash the H flashed around.
The H collects the h from the hospital when the book starts and the h reluctantly accepts that she is his wife. There is a sense of very violent lurve force mojo between them and the h feels the chills running down her spine when the H describes how they met and their recent life.
The H claims they have only been married a short time, they met in England when the H went to buy a house. They had a whirlwind courtship after the H wore the h down enough to see him and then they went to NYC for the honeymoon.
The H relays that they argued soon after their arrival, there was something in the marriage ceremony that scared and jolted the h. The H had an important business meeting and the h abandoned all her things and took off. She apparently was mugged and the H eventually found her in a charity hospital, which brings us to the story's start where the H and h have only been married for two days.
So now the h is shackled to the H and like the best HP H Villains of Olde, he frequently infers that he has very nefarious plans and the tart shaming of the h for her supposed gold diggery is massive. The H sweeps the h off to Niagara Falls and we get a little HP travelogue.
The h's actual gold digging capacity is tested when the H tries to buy her a fancy watch to replace the one her parents gave her that was stolen. The h wins the contest of wills when she insists on having a moderately priced, functional watch.
The H is furious about this, cause he promised not to rape the h and now can't force her to provide lurve club events in payment for pricey accouterments via emotional blackmail. That doesn't stop his roofie punishing kisses tho and the h feels a reluctant Treacherous Body Syndrome start to build.
Eventually the H's libido overrules the h's reluctance and the h believes she does love the H, even tho she still hasn't remembered anything. We get lots of borderline forced seduction scenes after the H is surprised by the h's chastity and the H crows about how the previously untouched h can be 'trained' to his style of boudoir deeds.
The h is still struggling with her missing memory and her sense that she can't trust the H. It turns out she was right when they go to party and the H's dumped mistress convinces the h that the H is using her as sub for her mother. There is a picture of the H and the h's mother kissing in a gossip magazine before her death.
(Tho to the H's credit he openly humiliates the former flame, so this H is just a misogynistic hater all around and he claims the h's mother was kissing him and he was repulsed.)
This totally freaks the h out, as it should, and the H threatens to lock the h up in a mental hospital if she tries to leave him. The lurve club events get more forceful and read as more degrading and the h decides that she will use the power of her love to fight for her man and save him from his own inner demons.
After a lot of H bullying and the h being a TSTL nitwit, the H and h return to England and to the h's childhood home. The h finally gets her memory back and figures out that this isn't the first time she has taken refuge in a memory fugue state.
After the horror of H's mother's death, the h asked to go to boarding school and managed to erase all memory of the H. The h did not recognize the H again until their marriage ceremony, when she learned the H's very unusual first name and her memories came back.
This was the reason the h left the first time, but now she is determined to endure the tortures of Hades to win over her H.
Now that the h remembers everything, the H is all about going for a ten on the h emotional torture and guilt scale. However the H doesn't have much page count left to get enmeshed in his degradation of the h, because the h finds her mother's diary and finally the truth comes out.
It was the H's mother who was having the affair with the h's philandering father. The H's mother asked for the divorce and then learned that she was just a piece to pike on the h's father's side.
The h's mother felt bad for her friend, but the h's father's rejection when the woman thought she was in love was too much and she fell over the very balustrade in the midst of an alcohol fueled emotional fit.
Therefore the H's mother's death was actually an accident and since the bad woman scandalous behavior was on the H's mother's side, he has no reason to punish the h anymore and his years of revenge were totally stupid because he got everything all wrong.
The H reluctantly realizes his grand plan o'vengeance will have to be put aside and the h declares she loves him. Since they now have a really nice country home, the h can have a gadzillion kids and continue on as the H's broodmare sex toy for another epicly whacktastick LW Trainwreck HP HEA.
This one is five stars for the massive angst and wrecky drama, but this H is a utter nematode slime slurper for almost all of the book and the h's idiocy and acceptance of the H's threats and abuse makes the romance portion a one.
The H never redeems himself and there is NO grovel, the H simply isn't sorry that he tormented the h for so long for things that were never her fault.
His behavior and the h's brainwashed martyrdom got him a compliant doormat and broodmare by the end, so if you love the massive whacktasticness of utter trainwreck avalanches, this will definitely be a very enjoyable HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2014
A man who hates women, is incredibly insecure, and has a volatile temper is too crazy in a bad way for me and I love a crazy wallbanger as much as the next HP addict. Even with the 'big truth' being revealed, I still see the h walking on eggshells for the rest of her life and slowly losing herself.
Also, warning for non-con/forced seduction. Personally I enjoy rape fantasy, but the multiple incidents in this one were too violent and degrading for my taste. I really wanted her to run away and stay away, but she decided to try and "save him" with her love. I simultaneously felt sorry for her and wanted to shake her, because I've seen women I care about fall into that trap before. It just doesn't work with someone like that.
Also, warning for non-con/forced seduction. Personally I enjoy rape fantasy, but the multiple incidents in this one were too violent and degrading for my taste. I really wanted her to run away and stay away, but she decided to try and "save him" with her love. I simultaneously felt sorry for her and wanted to shake her, because I've seen women I care about fall into that trap before. It just doesn't work with someone like that.
March 14, 2019
OTT plot with very awful H means a great book for me. :)
November 7, 2017
I'm not embarrassed by being known as a romance reader but sometimes I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed by loving a romance that is a tad unPC.
What can I say about this book. Jos is a very unPC hero. He is oldskool dubious consent at times but it only proves that he has the love badly despite his denials.
This starts out a pretty standard, new bride has amnesia and husband is hiding a secret, plot. My catnip. That's my excuse anyways.
So, Clare doesn't remember anything apart from one plus one is two, but she recognises pretty quickly that her husbands assertion that he married her for her money is wrong. Because of feelings.
There is an ex-lover of his there primarily to reveal something dark and horrifying about the hero and create conflict. As you do.
There is a nice trip to Niagara Falls which makes me think the English author had a lovely holiday in New York and up to Niagara before writing this book.
I really loved the secret past revealed. It made all the unPC stuff worthwhile.
Didn't make me cry, so close but no cigar for the fifth star.
What can I say about this book. Jos is a very unPC hero. He is oldskool dubious consent at times but it only proves that he has the love badly despite his denials.
This starts out a pretty standard, new bride has amnesia and husband is hiding a secret, plot. My catnip. That's my excuse anyways.
So, Clare doesn't remember anything apart from one plus one is two, but she recognises pretty quickly that her husbands assertion that he married her for her money is wrong. Because of feelings.
There is an ex-lover of his there primarily to reveal something dark and horrifying about the hero and create conflict. As you do.
There is a nice trip to Niagara Falls which makes me think the English author had a lovely holiday in New York and up to Niagara before writing this book.
I really loved the secret past revealed. It made all the unPC stuff worthwhile.
Didn't make me cry, so close but no cigar for the fifth star.
August 30, 2014
3 1/2 Stars ~ It had been a whirlwind courtship and a mere six weeks after meeting Jos, Clare married him. When the minister stated Jos' name in full, Clare instantly realized that the man she was marrying had hiden his true identity from her. They'd immediately flown from England to New York and as soon as they arrived, Clare insisted to know why Jos had married her. She'd removed her rings and had left his penthouse apartment. Jos had searched frantically for her and found her in a hospital with a head wound and no memory of who she was and certainly no memory of every having met him let alone married him. Seeing the photos and documents that confirmed their marriage, Clare has no choice but to believe Jos. Something inside Clare warns her to beware of her husband and his cold and often angry attitude towards her makes her even more afraid. Jos insists they continue on with their honeymoon, and slowly he wears down her defenses and their marriage is finally consummated, and much to Jos' shock he finds his wife had been a virgin. Their new intimacy slowly brings them closer together, and Clare begins to understand why Jos married her and though he firmly believes she married him for his wealth, she knows that she'd loved him from the first moment she'd seen him.
I adore amnesia stories, especially ones where there is a marriage that isn't remembered. Clare can't deny that the stranger that is her husband disturbs her and arouses her. But she's also aware that there is something about him and the secrets he holds that make her afraid. Jos is a troubled man with a troubled past, and he hides his pain behind a wall of cynicism and anger. Clare wittles down this wall and he can't help but see her as the generous and passionate woman that she is. When the truth of the past is revealed and Clare has her memory, I was a little disappointed that Jos didn't have to redeem himself to her, she'd completely forgiven him for all the pain he'd caused her.
While some may find Jos just a total brute, and Clare too self-sacrificing, I didn't see them that way. Kept in the dark until the end of the book as to the trauma's of their past, I found myself compelled to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next.
I adore amnesia stories, especially ones where there is a marriage that isn't remembered. Clare can't deny that the stranger that is her husband disturbs her and arouses her. But she's also aware that there is something about him and the secrets he holds that make her afraid. Jos is a troubled man with a troubled past, and he hides his pain behind a wall of cynicism and anger. Clare wittles down this wall and he can't help but see her as the generous and passionate woman that she is. When the truth of the past is revealed and Clare has her memory, I was a little disappointed that Jos didn't have to redeem himself to her, she'd completely forgiven him for all the pain he'd caused her.
While some may find Jos just a total brute, and Clare too self-sacrificing, I didn't see them that way. Kept in the dark until the end of the book as to the trauma's of their past, I found myself compelled to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2020
So many good summaries below, so just some general comments.
I thought this was a really well done revenge/amnesia story with a very dommy H and an h who was sweet and pretty brave in light of the fact that she had lost her memory and was sure from the start that the H (her new husband, of whom she had no memory) harbored ill feeling toward her and was out to punish her in some way. Initially distrustful, she is none-the-less drawn to him more and more. This fed my own slightly twisted liking for dub-con stories with a pretty strong D/s-y feel (certain Harley authors delivered that very well, and LW is one of them in this tale--I never liked the overtly violent and rapey types like some of Ann Mather's Hs but I do like an overpowering and dominant H as long as the h enjoys the experience (and can hold her own)--as this one clearly does in the quite plentiful forced consent scenes). If that's not your cup of tea, you're not going to like this story. If it is, it's a pretty dark tale with some quite hot D/s sex scenes that scratches the itch quite well.
Despite his wish to view his new wife with contempt and use her as a vehicle for revenge because of a very Gothic past event involving both sets of parents, the H is soon falling for our gentle h's sweet personality and her response to him, quickly realizing that she does not fit the mold he created for her. I honestly didn't find her doormatty at all--I think she handled her amnesia with a lot of courage and was willing to stand up to her forceful husband when she needed to, but was also pretty aware that he had been so harmed by his past that it would be a rough road to heal him with her love (it sounds so cliched, but I thought it actually worked in this story). She made it clear pretty early on that she was in it for the long haul, and I thought that we could soon see a real change in how he viewed and felt about her.
He definitely had some anger issues because of his past and was physically overbearing, but there were tender moments too, and I thought they were a good match who have a real chance at HEA. I see her and her her besotted H and a brood of kiddos splitting time between their fabulous country manor and their NYC penthouse, getting drunk with the butler and winning at poker. Overall, an excellent read for me, so a solid 5 stars because I would definitely read again.
I thought this was a really well done revenge/amnesia story with a very dommy H and an h who was sweet and pretty brave in light of the fact that she had lost her memory and was sure from the start that the H (her new husband, of whom she had no memory) harbored ill feeling toward her and was out to punish her in some way. Initially distrustful, she is none-the-less drawn to him more and more. This fed my own slightly twisted liking for dub-con stories with a pretty strong D/s-y feel (certain Harley authors delivered that very well, and LW is one of them in this tale--I never liked the overtly violent and rapey types like some of Ann Mather's Hs but I do like an overpowering and dominant H as long as the h enjoys the experience (and can hold her own)--as this one clearly does in the quite plentiful forced consent scenes). If that's not your cup of tea, you're not going to like this story. If it is, it's a pretty dark tale with some quite hot D/s sex scenes that scratches the itch quite well.
Despite his wish to view his new wife with contempt and use her as a vehicle for revenge because of a very Gothic past event involving both sets of parents, the H is soon falling for our gentle h's sweet personality and her response to him, quickly realizing that she does not fit the mold he created for her. I honestly didn't find her doormatty at all--I think she handled her amnesia with a lot of courage and was willing to stand up to her forceful husband when she needed to, but was also pretty aware that he had been so harmed by his past that it would be a rough road to heal him with her love (it sounds so cliched, but I thought it actually worked in this story). She made it clear pretty early on that she was in it for the long haul, and I thought that we could soon see a real change in how he viewed and felt about her.
He definitely had some anger issues because of his past and was physically overbearing, but there were tender moments too, and I thought they were a good match who have a real chance at HEA. I see her and her her besotted H and a brood of kiddos splitting time between their fabulous country manor and their NYC penthouse, getting drunk with the butler and winning at poker. Overall, an excellent read for me, so a solid 5 stars because I would definitely read again.
March 18, 2022
There was a lot packed in this 190 page story. It was like an old house where you keep peeling off wallpaper to unveil yet another layer.
So, our 24 year old heroine wakes up in a busy New York hospital with amnesia. How fortunate that her tall, dark and handsome 30 year old husband comes to claim her.
She isn’t so sure about him, and gets some ominous vibes(with good reason)
The hero Jos comes off as angry, frustrated, and impatient with the h.
The h is obviously scared as she remembers nothing personal.
Things get revealed pretty quickly as to their marriage. No he doesn’t love her. She is a gold digging tarty mctartlet with extra tart on the side, just like her deceased mom. According to him she was ok with this because she wants all his glorious money to roll around in.
The h may not know much, but she is pretty sure she isn’t some NYC reality star wife and that she would have only married the H if there was love on her side.
So what is the truth? Well, LW does a good job of peppering truths and 1/2 truths throughout. I don’t want to give too much away because discovering along the way was 1/2 the fun(torture).
Here’s what I will say:
Jos has a low opinion of women and thinks love in general is a farce. I can see where our jaded Jos gets this and it will take someone extra special to change his mind. Enter extra special…
You may say doormat…my less cynical mind says Clare, our h is a woman who has love to give and she wants to give it to the H. Of course the path to true love is very bumpy….
First she isn’t a tart which is proven when she and the H have sex for the first time. The passion is hot and our h embraces her wanton side. Unlike her mom though, she keeps it all for the H(LW plays with the edge of dubious consent in some scenes and our h seems to like that)
Oh, look the h and H get invited to a party at the last minute hosted by the H’s good friend whose daughter happens to be the H’s ex lover(in between her marriages) She is exactly the type of woman that would convince a man that love is a myth. Clare and Jos arrive at the party and the beautiful Andrea makes a beeline for the H’s lips Ignoring his wife. Our H makes a quick move so it becomes a kiss on the cheek. Andrea the viper promises to catch up with the h later as she has something to show her….and no it isn’t a collection of vintage Barbie dolls.
Instead she shows the h a tabloid with pictures of the H(I’m not telling you a thing) the h becomes ill(I become ill), and I relook at the star ratings from Aou, StMargarets, Debby, Grrrace, and Ellyn…how could they steer me into this mess…yucky!!! Then I stop, look at the page count, and realize there is still 70 pages to go…plenty of time to explain it all.
From here LW packs in some more sex and keeps peeling off the layers. We return back to England where this sordid tale began more than 15 years ago.
At one point, the H shows his jealousy over the h and proves again he is the man! Then, the final pieces fall in place with the help of a long forgotten diary. The H asks for forgiveness(but never really grovels)and there is a cute little interplay between the two as they embark on a HEA to last forever.
Another cute addition to the story was the poker playing butler…
Seriously, how could I have doubted those 3-5 ⭐️ GR friend’s ratings…silly Pooh bear!
July 14, 2021
3.5 stars ⭐️ I liked the mystery of her amnesia most of all! The ending was good!
August 28, 2018
A very compelling book. The author does a good job of drawing out the mystery and motives amidst an amnesia trope.
The husband is not a very likeable guy and he doesn’t act very lovingly towards his wife most of the time, but he is sexually obsessed with her.
This is a 4-star for me because I couldn’t put the book down.
The husband is not a very likeable guy and he doesn’t act very lovingly towards his wife most of the time, but he is sexually obsessed with her.
This is a 4-star for me because I couldn’t put the book down.
November 25, 2021
He is a cruel, dominant H.
She was too much of an easy push-over. And he knew he had control over her.
I would have liked this story better if she would have had a bit of pride.
But still fascinating. 4 stars.
She was too much of an easy push-over. And he knew he had control over her.
I would have liked this story better if she would have had a bit of pride.
But still fascinating. 4 stars.
September 11, 2017
That was a great afternoon read. I liked the plot (which wasn't over the top), the characters and I especially liked the fact that Clare stuck by Jos through it all. The hero and heroine were both very likable. Definitely recommend.
March 13, 2018
Forgotten husband!
After waking up in a hospital bed, Clare couldn't even remember her own name, let alone who she was married to! When Jos introduced himself as her husband, he was a complete stranger to her….
Clare couldn't deny the sparks of sexual attraction between her and Jos, but she sensed a deeper bond between them. Was it simply the love between man and wife or something dark and dangerous? Clare was about to find out if Jos really wanted a reunion, or revenge….
After waking up in a hospital bed, Clare couldn't even remember her own name, let alone who she was married to! When Jos introduced himself as her husband, he was a complete stranger to her….
Clare couldn't deny the sparks of sexual attraction between her and Jos, but she sensed a deeper bond between them. Was it simply the love between man and wife or something dark and dangerous? Clare was about to find out if Jos really wanted a reunion, or revenge….
April 14, 2019
Great revenge/wrongly persecuted story with no apology or grovel at the end that just killed the book for me. I will still probably reread it and daydream up a better ending though cause the first 97% was 5 star.
September 27, 2022
It's a solid 3.5 but I'm giving it a 4 because it's the first amnesia story I've not hated. The h, Clare has a very decent soul and an appreciation of all of that makes the H, Jos an alpha. He, let's not be coy, is a dyed in the wool Dom and, just like Clare, I am allover that.
Other reviews give good plot summaries. There's a historical family psychodynamic underpinning the plot. The sex is good. The h deals well with the brief OW appearance. A lot yo like, basically.
Other reviews give good plot summaries. There's a historical family psychodynamic underpinning the plot. The sex is good. The h deals well with the brief OW appearance. A lot yo like, basically.
September 27, 2022
One of those romances when you think to yourself 'never ever in a million years would I want to be in her shoes'. Don't get me wrong I love a cruel H and all the melodrama, and I'm a card carrying member of the non-con fan club, but something about these two just screams 'unhappy ever after'. Gotta give it four stars because it was the book equivalent of a slow motion car wreck, I simply couldn't take my eyes off it.
August 10, 2026
I am breezing through my TBR at breakneck speed and this is one of those. I would've have been salivating over the angst at one time, but now I sense that it is so contrived it's almost comical. And I don't like the heroine trying to "save" the hero from himself after all he put her through. She was not my kind of heroine.
December 18, 2020
There are two plots in this one book. Both suffer because they are stuffed together and don't blend or make each more interesting. Felt so bad for the heroine, no memory and a jerk of a hero up in her face. Skip. Not romantic or fun.
November 17, 2017
2.5 stars.
The H was always angry and always for the wrong reasons. He was so off base, that his matcho attitude stopped being attractive.
The H was always angry and always for the wrong reasons. He was so off base, that his matcho attitude stopped being attractive.
February 11, 2019
It was ok.
March 28, 2019
Misogynistic of the time, but well written.
December 27, 2021
3.5 stars
August 20, 2023
There were lots of unexplained story in here.
and also didn't feel the love, lust and passion yes!
and also didn't feel the love, lust and passion yes!
September 25, 2026
Enjoyed it , only took a star off for the abrupt ending
October 22, 2024
This one was good (love the amnesia stories), though the H's revenge was misdirected, in more ways than one! I give this h credit for a point in the story where she's confronted by some facts about the H that make her hurt, angry and contemplating what so many h's have done before (run away), but then she decides that's not the answer and determines to fight for her marriage and, while not being a doormat for the H to step on, try to see things from his POV and be more understanding. Now, there's a grown woman, NOT a silly girl!
The H, for all his smarts and sophistication, could act pretty childish at times, tenaciously clinging to a false impression of the h, along the lines of "guilt by association" or "sins of the fathers", or in this case, mothers.
Some readers might be put off by the H's tactics, like borderline "forced seduction", but the h doesn't hide her own sexuality and despite her pre-H innocence, she discovers she has a very passionate nature and gets turned on by a bit of roughness, getting a bit rough herself at times.
There are a few scenes with both the OW (the H's former mistress) and OM (a co-worker of the h's, whom she had been dating), with the OW filling the h in on some upsetting details about the H and the OM trying to be helpful and unwittingly causing the H to become jealous and ready to punch him!
While the OW was the typical bitch, the OM was really a nice guy (without being a simp), and someone you'd like to see have his own HEA.
But this story had sad overtones. Both the H and h had less than desirable relationships with their parents, who were very flawed people (to say the least), and it's their stories that cause all the conflict for the couple. Both had unhappy childhoods because of this and witnessed a horrible tragedy no children should have to see. It's amazing neither of them needed therapy.
In its way, neglect can be as bad as abuse.
Saddest of all: neither could show much grief over the deaths of their parents. Understandable, but still sad.
Worth reading.
The H, for all his smarts and sophistication, could act pretty childish at times, tenaciously clinging to a false impression of the h, along the lines of "guilt by association" or "sins of the fathers", or in this case, mothers.
Some readers might be put off by the H's tactics, like borderline "forced seduction", but the h doesn't hide her own sexuality and despite her pre-H innocence, she discovers she has a very passionate nature and gets turned on by a bit of roughness, getting a bit rough herself at times.
There are a few scenes with both the OW (the H's former mistress) and OM (a co-worker of the h's, whom she had been dating), with the OW filling the h in on some upsetting details about the H and the OM trying to be helpful and unwittingly causing the H to become jealous and ready to punch him!
While the OW was the typical bitch, the OM was really a nice guy (without being a simp), and someone you'd like to see have his own HEA.
But this story had sad overtones. Both the H and h had less than desirable relationships with their parents, who were very flawed people (to say the least), and it's their stories that cause all the conflict for the couple. Both had unhappy childhoods because of this and witnessed a horrible tragedy no children should have to see. It's amazing neither of them needed therapy.
In its way, neglect can be as bad as abuse.
Saddest of all: neither could show much grief over the deaths of their parents. Understandable, but still sad.
Worth reading.
October 30, 2021
Reminder to self - this is the one where H hates h because he thinks her mother drove his mom to her death by having an affair with his dad. His mom fell over the railing in h's home and died from the fall.
Pluses
Could not put down
Detailed, realistic settings
Excellent backstory
Tension
Virgin heroine
Non-doormat heroine
Detailed hero, more deeply characterized than she was
Minuses
Not sure I believed in romance
I never wanted to yell at her
Now for him… what a complicated guy who didn’t seem to know his own motivations and varied between nasty, considerate, insulting and loving. Made for a compelling read but not a compelling love.
He endlessly manipulates her and semi-rapes her.
Pluses
Could not put down
Detailed, realistic settings
Excellent backstory
Tension
Virgin heroine
Non-doormat heroine
Detailed hero, more deeply characterized than she was
Minuses
Not sure I believed in romance
I never wanted to yell at her
Now for him… what a complicated guy who didn’t seem to know his own motivations and varied between nasty, considerate, insulting and loving. Made for a compelling read but not a compelling love.
He endlessly manipulates her and semi-rapes her.
January 3, 2016
a convoluted story with too much physical fighting to be any good
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