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Hawk's Prey
Whitney could have cried with frustration
She was adult, independent, with a career of her own. How could she make Hawk see her as other than Whitney Morgan, the daughter of the man who had been his best friend, the child Hawk had agreed to care for?
That agreement had cost him so much: the career he loved, the wife he was obsessed with.
And now Whitney didn't understand his present difficulties, unable to believe despite appearances that Hawk would be involved in anything underhanded. She only knew that she wanted to help him, to share his life fully as a woman....
She was adult, independent, with a career of her own. How could she make Hawk see her as other than Whitney Morgan, the daughter of the man who had been his best friend, the child Hawk had agreed to care for?
That agreement had cost him so much: the career he loved, the wife he was obsessed with.
And now Whitney didn't understand his present difficulties, unable to believe despite appearances that Hawk would be involved in anything underhanded. She only knew that she wanted to help him, to share his life fully as a woman....
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Carole Mortimer
1,312 books913 followersI have written almost 250 romance novels in contemporary and Regency.
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 28, 2020
"Hawk's Prey" is the story of Whitney and Hawk.
Ever expect your tea to be piping hot, and it disappoints you by being lukewarm and stale? That's my feeling after reading this.
With the title and blurb of this book, I was expecting a super angsty and passionate ward/ guardian- May/December romance. Instead we have a pretty average story of a totally smitten heroine, an im-obsessed-with-you-but-ill-push-you-away-while-you-think-im-in-love-with-my-ex hero, some professional drama, little of of lovemaking, confessions and HEA.
Man, I wanted this to be so much better!
SWE/Unsafe
2/5
Ever expect your tea to be piping hot, and it disappoints you by being lukewarm and stale? That's my feeling after reading this.
With the title and blurb of this book, I was expecting a super angsty and passionate ward/ guardian- May/December romance. Instead we have a pretty average story of a totally smitten heroine, an im-obsessed-with-you-but-ill-push-you-away-while-you-think-im-in-love-with-my-ex hero, some professional drama, little of of lovemaking, confessions and HEA.
Man, I wanted this to be so much better!
SWE/Unsafe
2/5
May 22, 2016
Re Hawk's Prey - this is CM's version of the guardian/ward trope and it is not badly done. The h is a 22 yr old reporter working for her guardian H's newspaper. She hasn't seen him for a year, when his guardianship ended at her 21st birthday, he basically kicked her out of his life. She had been his ward since she was 15, when her father died in a motorcycle racing accident.
The H was her father's good friend and tho she stayed at boarding school for most of the year, she visited the H and his wife on holidays. The H and she spent a lot of time together, most of it on the H's yacht and the h treasures those jaunts as the wife got seasick and so stayed home a lot.
The h's 21st birthday also coincides with the H's divorce from his very witchy wife, who had numerous affairs throughout the marriage and was really mean to the h. The h is very hurt that the H is acting like she doesn't exist. She has been head over heels in love with him for years.
The h isn't lying about and mourning her lack of love tho. She is currently investigating a local businessman for shady dealings. She has been working on the story for six months and is all set to interview the suspected gangster over lunch.
Her editor is worried, cause the h has been getting threatening phone calls to her unlisted number. Since the H owns the paper, he threatens to call him and tell him the h is endangering herself if she doesn't back off. The rumor going round is that the suspicious businessman has no problem knocking off anyone who gets too inquisitive. The h disregards the warning and goes to lunch anyways. The gangster businessman is wily tho, and the h doesn't get anymore to add to her story.
On the way out of the restaurant, the h is forced into a waiting limo. There are a few paragraphs of panic when the h thinks she is being taken off to be killed and an inadvertently funny moment when the h realizes she is being driven towards the Thames and freaks out, her editor had warned her that the GB probably dumped his bodies there.
The h is quickly relieved when she is delivered to a luxury yacht and finds the H there waiting. She beats him up a bit and then is completely mortified when she finds out that the limo driver thinks her and the H are playing some kind of kinky game. The limo driver has a whole business of couple using his limo's for illicit rendezvous.
So now the h is kidnapped and the H tells her that her job is gone, he is keeping her on the yacht until the GB doesn't think she is a threat anymore. The h is mad about the job, but happy she gets to spend a bunch of time with her true love, even if he is still in love with his ex-wife - who is now married to the gangster businessman. There is some kissing moments and then some back and forth between the H and h, but she finally accepts she is on board for awhile, she can't swim well enough to make it to shore.
Later that night, the h can't sleep and gets up to find a book. She overhears the H and one of the GB's minders talking about a business deal. She thinks the H is involved in the shady antics of the GB and she is horrified. Then she decides she has to help the H recognize the error of his ways to save him.
The h has photographs from following the GB and the ex-wife around London as they come into contact with various people. The H wants them and her notes, but she lies and says she left it in her desk. The H has already searched her house when he went to get her clothes and the h is hoping he doesn't realize they are in her purse.
The h frets a lot about the H being involved with criminals and comes to the conclusion that he is doing it because his huge family fortune is gone and he is desperate to get his ex wife back - apparently she like to make her hubby's pay if they want to play. The h is pretty mad about that and decides to escape. She can't sneak down the gangplank, so she tries to go over the side of the yacht but gets stuck hanging outside the H's porthole.
The H rescues her and she gives him a hard time about his new criminal occupation until he introduces the GB's minder as an undercover cop and the H is helping him solve the case.
The h is relieved and passionate kissing ensues, then the H stops when the h reminds him of his ex-wife. The H then tells her the ex wife and GB will be coming on board the next evening for dinner.
The h is sad that the H is STILL obsessing over a woman who is terribly, horribly wrong for him AND doesn't appreciate all his manly wonderfullness like the h does. Dinner doesn't go very well the next evening. The ex-wife gets seasick, the h is angry that the H is still in love with his ex and not in love with her and the men are all really wary around each other.
The h is getting paler and paler and the GB hauls her up on deck to get some air. They exchange a few words and the h is pretty obvious in her dislike - the GB wants to reassure himself that the H can control her, and she is pretty harsh in her responses.
The H comes out to rescue her, and the h pleads illness and goes to bed. Where the H shows up a few hours later and the passionate lurve clubbing ensues. The h is happy, cause if she has to seduce her man to keep him, she will.
The entire ship now knows they're lovers and the h really hoping this whole lurve clubbing isn't just and act to convince the GB the H is on his side. She and the H wake up in bed together and the yacht is moving. The h is wondering what is going on and the H explains that everyone is going to Europe. The H, h, ex-wife and GB and his minders (including the undercover cop) are all sailing off together.
The h is stunned and can't figure out what is going on. Tensions on the yacht are mounting but the part of the answer is revealed when the H and undercover guy go over the pictures the h took and find it is the ex-wife they need to be looking at, not the GB. Apparently someone is smuggling drugs and it looks like it is the ex-wife.
The H says it can't be her, and the h can't believe that he could still be so in love with the woman. More lurve clubbing ensues and then we all get to Amsterdam. The ex-wife is still ill and the H and GB and minders all leave the ship, leaving the ladies behind.
They finally return hours later and the whole story is that it was the GB's other minder who was the drug dealer. He used the ex-wife - whom he was shagging as well- to transport the drugs into the country. The ex-wife claims that she was having an affair, but she thought she was carrying around antiques. The ex wife gave the drug smuggler minder the h's number to get the pictures back so she could continue to hide her affair from the GB -the drug smuggler was the one threatening the h.
Then GB has a heart seizure moment and the H helps him to bed with the ex-wife worriedly trailing after. The h is now really sad, cause it seems nothing can alter the H's love for the woman he lost, but as she well knows, the heart just can't be denied.
Everyone goes back to England and the h doesn't see the H for a week, she is toddling around her house being bored and depressed, when her editor shows up and asks her when she coming back to work. She tells the editor that the H fired her, and the editor tells her the H did not. She still has a job and now she has an interview - with the ex-wife who isn't being charged with drug smuggling and is apparently happy with her second GB hubby who isn't dumping her.
The h takes herself off to the interview and the ex-wife explains her animosity towards the h stems from the fact that the H fell in love with the h when he first met her (at fifteen which was kinda ick), and their marriage, which was pretty poor to begin with, just completely fell apart.
It seems the ex-wife only married the H cause she was a motorcycle racer groupie and slept around, but got preggers on her shot with the H. He married her for the baby, but she miscarried and that was pretty much it for the marriage, the H stopped sleeping with her. Then the h came along and the ex-wife was offended that a 15 yr old was stealing her hubby and even more offended when the H tired to sleep with the ex-wife again but couldn't. He only wanted the h, so there have been no OW for him for several years.
The h is surprised by this but tells the ex not to stress herself, cause she and the h are kaput. She goes on to ask about the drug case and the ex tells her that she hates drugs and despises the pushers because the GB hates drugs cause his first wife overdosed on drugs supplied by his now arrested minder and the H hates drugs because his best friend, the h's father, died from them. The h had maneuvered the ex wife into this confession because she suspected that the H was hiding the truth about her father's death from her by his reaction to the drug smuggling exposure.
The h is really angry now and the ex-wife tries to explain some more, (she slept with the h's dad too,) but the h is done and leaves. Then she goes and quits her job, she never wants to see the H again or work for him. She goes home and the H shows up.
He loves her madly, is really sorry for lying to her about her dad but did not know how to explain the situation to a 15 yr old. Then he tells her that he lied about being her guardian until she was 21. He really was only her guardian until 18, but he loved having her around so much he lied to keep her living with him. The ex-wife knew he lied and told him if he tried to dump her before she was ready, she would file for divorce and name the h as the H's lover.
The H let her hang around until she hooked the GB and then kicked the h out of his life to protect her reputation, and he lied about still loving his ex to keep the h from pursuing him cause he wanted her to have a shot at not being with a guy old enough to be her dad.
Since that love for the ex did not stop the h from seducing him anyways, and he can't live without her even though he is 37 and she is 22, he wants her to marry him. The h enthusiastically says yes and then threatens to tell the tabloids that he seduced her if he backs out, cause she has always loved only him and they wander off to find the transcendent shores of passion for the big HEA.
This one was pretty good with a nice little mystery HP style, well up until the 30 yr old mooning over the 15 yr old part anyways. If you can overlook the age thing, the story is pretty good. The h is determined but nice and the H was fun to watch as he attempts to hide his total love for the h. The secondary characters had a nice mix of sinister and entertaining and the red herrings were believable enough that the real culprit was a bit of a surprise. Overall this was well done and a good way to spend a few hours in HPlandia.
The H was her father's good friend and tho she stayed at boarding school for most of the year, she visited the H and his wife on holidays. The H and she spent a lot of time together, most of it on the H's yacht and the h treasures those jaunts as the wife got seasick and so stayed home a lot.
The h's 21st birthday also coincides with the H's divorce from his very witchy wife, who had numerous affairs throughout the marriage and was really mean to the h. The h is very hurt that the H is acting like she doesn't exist. She has been head over heels in love with him for years.
The h isn't lying about and mourning her lack of love tho. She is currently investigating a local businessman for shady dealings. She has been working on the story for six months and is all set to interview the suspected gangster over lunch.
Her editor is worried, cause the h has been getting threatening phone calls to her unlisted number. Since the H owns the paper, he threatens to call him and tell him the h is endangering herself if she doesn't back off. The rumor going round is that the suspicious businessman has no problem knocking off anyone who gets too inquisitive. The h disregards the warning and goes to lunch anyways. The gangster businessman is wily tho, and the h doesn't get anymore to add to her story.
On the way out of the restaurant, the h is forced into a waiting limo. There are a few paragraphs of panic when the h thinks she is being taken off to be killed and an inadvertently funny moment when the h realizes she is being driven towards the Thames and freaks out, her editor had warned her that the GB probably dumped his bodies there.
The h is quickly relieved when she is delivered to a luxury yacht and finds the H there waiting. She beats him up a bit and then is completely mortified when she finds out that the limo driver thinks her and the H are playing some kind of kinky game. The limo driver has a whole business of couple using his limo's for illicit rendezvous.
So now the h is kidnapped and the H tells her that her job is gone, he is keeping her on the yacht until the GB doesn't think she is a threat anymore. The h is mad about the job, but happy she gets to spend a bunch of time with her true love, even if he is still in love with his ex-wife - who is now married to the gangster businessman. There is some kissing moments and then some back and forth between the H and h, but she finally accepts she is on board for awhile, she can't swim well enough to make it to shore.
Later that night, the h can't sleep and gets up to find a book. She overhears the H and one of the GB's minders talking about a business deal. She thinks the H is involved in the shady antics of the GB and she is horrified. Then she decides she has to help the H recognize the error of his ways to save him.
The h has photographs from following the GB and the ex-wife around London as they come into contact with various people. The H wants them and her notes, but she lies and says she left it in her desk. The H has already searched her house when he went to get her clothes and the h is hoping he doesn't realize they are in her purse.
The h frets a lot about the H being involved with criminals and comes to the conclusion that he is doing it because his huge family fortune is gone and he is desperate to get his ex wife back - apparently she like to make her hubby's pay if they want to play. The h is pretty mad about that and decides to escape. She can't sneak down the gangplank, so she tries to go over the side of the yacht but gets stuck hanging outside the H's porthole.
The H rescues her and she gives him a hard time about his new criminal occupation until he introduces the GB's minder as an undercover cop and the H is helping him solve the case.
The h is relieved and passionate kissing ensues, then the H stops when the h reminds him of his ex-wife. The H then tells her the ex wife and GB will be coming on board the next evening for dinner.
The h is sad that the H is STILL obsessing over a woman who is terribly, horribly wrong for him AND doesn't appreciate all his manly wonderfullness like the h does. Dinner doesn't go very well the next evening. The ex-wife gets seasick, the h is angry that the H is still in love with his ex and not in love with her and the men are all really wary around each other.
The h is getting paler and paler and the GB hauls her up on deck to get some air. They exchange a few words and the h is pretty obvious in her dislike - the GB wants to reassure himself that the H can control her, and she is pretty harsh in her responses.
The H comes out to rescue her, and the h pleads illness and goes to bed. Where the H shows up a few hours later and the passionate lurve clubbing ensues. The h is happy, cause if she has to seduce her man to keep him, she will.
The entire ship now knows they're lovers and the h really hoping this whole lurve clubbing isn't just and act to convince the GB the H is on his side. She and the H wake up in bed together and the yacht is moving. The h is wondering what is going on and the H explains that everyone is going to Europe. The H, h, ex-wife and GB and his minders (including the undercover cop) are all sailing off together.
The h is stunned and can't figure out what is going on. Tensions on the yacht are mounting but the part of the answer is revealed when the H and undercover guy go over the pictures the h took and find it is the ex-wife they need to be looking at, not the GB. Apparently someone is smuggling drugs and it looks like it is the ex-wife.
The H says it can't be her, and the h can't believe that he could still be so in love with the woman. More lurve clubbing ensues and then we all get to Amsterdam. The ex-wife is still ill and the H and GB and minders all leave the ship, leaving the ladies behind.
They finally return hours later and the whole story is that it was the GB's other minder who was the drug dealer. He used the ex-wife - whom he was shagging as well- to transport the drugs into the country. The ex-wife claims that she was having an affair, but she thought she was carrying around antiques. The ex wife gave the drug smuggler minder the h's number to get the pictures back so she could continue to hide her affair from the GB -the drug smuggler was the one threatening the h.
Then GB has a heart seizure moment and the H helps him to bed with the ex-wife worriedly trailing after. The h is now really sad, cause it seems nothing can alter the H's love for the woman he lost, but as she well knows, the heart just can't be denied.
Everyone goes back to England and the h doesn't see the H for a week, she is toddling around her house being bored and depressed, when her editor shows up and asks her when she coming back to work. She tells the editor that the H fired her, and the editor tells her the H did not. She still has a job and now she has an interview - with the ex-wife who isn't being charged with drug smuggling and is apparently happy with her second GB hubby who isn't dumping her.
The h takes herself off to the interview and the ex-wife explains her animosity towards the h stems from the fact that the H fell in love with the h when he first met her (at fifteen which was kinda ick), and their marriage, which was pretty poor to begin with, just completely fell apart.
It seems the ex-wife only married the H cause she was a motorcycle racer groupie and slept around, but got preggers on her shot with the H. He married her for the baby, but she miscarried and that was pretty much it for the marriage, the H stopped sleeping with her. Then the h came along and the ex-wife was offended that a 15 yr old was stealing her hubby and even more offended when the H tired to sleep with the ex-wife again but couldn't. He only wanted the h, so there have been no OW for him for several years.
The h is surprised by this but tells the ex not to stress herself, cause she and the h are kaput. She goes on to ask about the drug case and the ex tells her that she hates drugs and despises the pushers because the GB hates drugs cause his first wife overdosed on drugs supplied by his now arrested minder and the H hates drugs because his best friend, the h's father, died from them. The h had maneuvered the ex wife into this confession because she suspected that the H was hiding the truth about her father's death from her by his reaction to the drug smuggling exposure.
The h is really angry now and the ex-wife tries to explain some more, (she slept with the h's dad too,) but the h is done and leaves. Then she goes and quits her job, she never wants to see the H again or work for him. She goes home and the H shows up.
He loves her madly, is really sorry for lying to her about her dad but did not know how to explain the situation to a 15 yr old. Then he tells her that he lied about being her guardian until she was 21. He really was only her guardian until 18, but he loved having her around so much he lied to keep her living with him. The ex-wife knew he lied and told him if he tried to dump her before she was ready, she would file for divorce and name the h as the H's lover.
The H let her hang around until she hooked the GB and then kicked the h out of his life to protect her reputation, and he lied about still loving his ex to keep the h from pursuing him cause he wanted her to have a shot at not being with a guy old enough to be her dad.
Since that love for the ex did not stop the h from seducing him anyways, and he can't live without her even though he is 37 and she is 22, he wants her to marry him. The h enthusiastically says yes and then threatens to tell the tabloids that he seduced her if he backs out, cause she has always loved only him and they wander off to find the transcendent shores of passion for the big HEA.
This one was pretty good with a nice little mystery HP style, well up until the 30 yr old mooning over the 15 yr old part anyways. If you can overlook the age thing, the story is pretty good. The h is determined but nice and the H was fun to watch as he attempts to hide his total love for the h. The secondary characters had a nice mix of sinister and entertaining and the red herrings were believable enough that the real culprit was a bit of a surprise. Overall this was well done and a good way to spend a few hours in HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2016
I’m pretty sure I read this a long time ago but somehow I forgot all about it. So in essence this 2nd read feels like the first time.
The plot is that the reporter h is caught up in a dangerous story and the much older H who was her guardian since she was 15 as well as her employer kind of abducts her for her safety/keep her out of the way but there are secrets going on. Of course we all know that h has an unrequited love for the older H and all that jazz. I like the older man-younger woman trope and all the angst that comes with it. Add in the forbidden pleasure of being her guardian (gasp!) makes it even more delicious.
After reading the book I only found it OK in terms of the “romance”. I feel there was more of the mystery than the romance aspect – which is fine. In fact I totally forgot this book that I was totally fooled by the “mystery” again. The fact that I think I read this before and I didn’t remember it on the 2nd reading makes me think this book wasn’t memorable to me – hence the 3 stars. I gave it 3 stars because as I was reading it I was entertained somewhat. I just felt slightly disappointed that the romance took a backseat.
The plot is that the reporter h is caught up in a dangerous story and the much older H who was her guardian since she was 15 as well as her employer kind of abducts her for her safety/keep her out of the way but there are secrets going on. Of course we all know that h has an unrequited love for the older H and all that jazz. I like the older man-younger woman trope and all the angst that comes with it. Add in the forbidden pleasure of being her guardian (gasp!) makes it even more delicious.
After reading the book I only found it OK in terms of the “romance”. I feel there was more of the mystery than the romance aspect – which is fine. In fact I totally forgot this book that I was totally fooled by the “mystery” again. The fact that I think I read this before and I didn’t remember it on the 2nd reading makes me think this book wasn’t memorable to me – hence the 3 stars. I gave it 3 stars because as I was reading it I was entertained somewhat. I just felt slightly disappointed that the romance took a backseat.
June 7, 2020
15 years age gap - guardian/ward - unrequited love - H attracted by h since their first meeting (she was 15...) - misunderstanding/suspense/crime - unleashed passion
I know some of the above elements may sound creepy (maybe they are) but I loved this story!
I know some of the above elements may sound creepy (maybe they are) but I loved this story!
November 29, 2012
This is more of a mystery romance and it was so well done that I was enthralled by everything going on. I really enjoyed this novel. I especially loved that Whitney went after Hawk and what she wanted. She didn't back down. It was romantic!
May 28, 2021
Whitney could have cried with frustration
She was adult, independent, with a career of her own. How could she make Hawk see her as other than Whitney Morgan, the daughter of the man who had been his best friend, the child Hawk had agreed to care for?
That agreement had cost him so much: the career he loved, the wife he was obsessed with.
And now Whitney didn't understand his present difficulties, unable to believe despite appearances that Hawk would be involved in anything underhanded. She only knew that she wanted to help him, to share his life fully as a woman...
She was adult, independent, with a career of her own. How could she make Hawk see her as other than Whitney Morgan, the daughter of the man who had been his best friend, the child Hawk had agreed to care for?
That agreement had cost him so much: the career he loved, the wife he was obsessed with.
And now Whitney didn't understand his present difficulties, unable to believe despite appearances that Hawk would be involved in anything underhanded. She only knew that she wanted to help him, to share his life fully as a woman...
January 19, 2014
There is no passion, no tension here. It's a fade book for a guardian-ward story. Plus, the heroïne is very annoying. For someone who claims to be very good at her job (journalist) she's quite stupid.
avoid
March 27, 2017I don't think I can look past a 30 year old lusting after a 15 year old he's supposed to be the guardian of!
June 17, 2017
3,5/5.
October 26, 2021
HAWK'S PREY
VERY MUCH CAROLE MORTIMER'S READS, I HAVE MUST OF HER BOOKS
IN PAPERBACK. JUST REREAD THEM AGAIN. JUST ONE NIGHT WAS ONE
OF HER BEST.
VERY MUCH CAROLE MORTIMER'S READS, I HAVE MUST OF HER BOOKS
IN PAPERBACK. JUST REREAD THEM AGAIN. JUST ONE NIGHT WAS ONE
OF HER BEST.
January 16, 2022
It was a light reading.
September 24, 2023
H admits he has been lusting over the h since he first met her when she was 15 and he became her guardian.
November 7, 2023
Went on Carole Mortimer bender. She can write fun books and OTT books but this one was stupid. The cub reporter trope was unbearable.
October 13, 2010
Hmm...Here is the story of Whitney who is 22. She had been under the guardianship of her father's best friend from the age of 15 to 21. Of course she loved him and of course he loved her. But he was married, but not happily, when she came into his life and his wife was jealous and set things up so that he couldn't claim her once the guardianship was over. After she turned 21 he helped her find an apartment and get a job. So far so good. But there was this totally hokey mystery that was basically a bait and switch. The author gave a whole bunch of clues to lead you to one conclusion and then presto chango! It wasn't what you were thinking at all. Which would be fine if any of it had been hinted at and bigger if - if it had made the least bit of sense. She should have just stuck to the romance.
September 29, 2012
I don't really liked this plot: the married hero falling in love with a 15 years old girl. He's a cheating husband as far as I'm concerned. I didn't feel the love in this book, on either side. I don't have trouble with guardian-wards books, but the fact that he was married while meeting the girl it
was a bit too much for me.
was a bit too much for me.
February 14, 2018
Boring. It focused more on an uninteresting plot about some mobster then the romance between the h/H.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews