What do you think?
Rate this book
Debt of Dishonour
Debt Of Dishonour by Mary Wibberley released on Aug 25, 1980 is available now for purchase.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 26, 2024
The heroine's disgraced, bankrupt father died, leaving his poor little rich girl destitute and in need to work for a living. She scrimped and saved working as a nanny and ladies'companion for years and is almost at the end of her Herculean effort to settle all her father's debts. For all that tragic background story, the author managed not to turn her into a downtrodden Mary Sue. I think her sense of humor and her self-confidence saved her. No Great, Big, Terrible Misunderstandings or TSTL moments for her. When the hero starts off their relationship on the wrong foot, she stands up to him and he is begrudgingly impressed. And naturally, he progressively becomes enamored of her.
There is a fun scene where heroine rides pillion behind the hero on a horse and when they get back to the stables and dismount, he runs off like he was set on fire. And he was! Heroine has no clue and thinks he rudely snubbed her. She genuinely wonders what she did to all of a sudden make him so “angry” with her. LOL 😂
Another plot point I enjoyed was the antique Fortuny dress that gives the heroine her Cinderella moment. Look up Fortuny's bio and the images of some of his dresses online, particularly the unique way the dresses were packed, you won't regret it!
This hero was one loyal dude. He cut OW off with all the subtlety of a samurai sword at the first instance that she hurt the heroine. No second chances or tolerating her grubby hands all over him because she is a "family friend." Boom, she was out like last year's haircut. I loved it!!!!.
There is a fun scene where heroine rides pillion behind the hero on a horse and when they get back to the stables and dismount, he runs off like he was set on fire. And he was! Heroine has no clue and thinks he rudely snubbed her. She genuinely wonders what she did to all of a sudden make him so “angry” with her. LOL 😂
Another plot point I enjoyed was the antique Fortuny dress that gives the heroine her Cinderella moment. Look up Fortuny's bio and the images of some of his dresses online, particularly the unique way the dresses were packed, you won't regret it!
This hero was one loyal dude. He cut OW off with all the subtlety of a samurai sword at the first instance that she hurt the heroine. No second chances or tolerating her grubby hands all over him because she is a "family friend." Boom, she was out like last year's haircut. I loved it!!!!.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2017
I needed a vintage - with abrupt ending and all - after reading some sub-par HPs. This one was delightful. The heroine is competent in everything she does - chess, tennis, swimming, sewing, languages. The hero is smitten. The OM and OW were both exposed (and disposed of) with efficiency by the hero. I liked the grandmother and the sulky teenager the heroine was supposed to be taking care of.
The setting was a grand estate in Yorkshire that had gorgeous grounds and an attic of vintage dresses. Not a lot happens in this one. The H/h are smitten with each other on sight, but don't admit it. The heroine has a secret (she's paying off her father's debts to the hero's company), so she's going by her maiden name. There is a party (where the h wears the vintage gown and the OM spills wine on it so she has to take it off for cleaning and the hero leaps to conclusions). There's a trip to York and the bookshops and the fabric stores (my kind of shopping).
The MOC came out of nowhere - I think the hero just couldn't wait to court the heroine. Good thing he had a grandmother with cancer who needed cheering up and she had a brother with gambling fever to help him along in the blackmail stakes. That sexless marriage lasted all of 24 hours - and boom - the end.
This was just a nice vintage vacation.
The setting was a grand estate in Yorkshire that had gorgeous grounds and an attic of vintage dresses. Not a lot happens in this one. The H/h are smitten with each other on sight, but don't admit it. The heroine has a secret (she's paying off her father's debts to the hero's company), so she's going by her maiden name. There is a party (where the h wears the vintage gown and the OM spills wine on it so she has to take it off for cleaning and the hero leaps to conclusions). There's a trip to York and the bookshops and the fabric stores (my kind of shopping).
The MOC came out of nowhere - I think the hero just couldn't wait to court the heroine. Good thing he had a grandmother with cancer who needed cheering up and she had a brother with gambling fever to help him along in the blackmail stakes. That sexless marriage lasted all of 24 hours - and boom - the end.
This was just a nice vintage vacation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2017
There is not much I can add to Naksed's review, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
but this was great and all due to the heroine. Renata is a 4 star, Mary Poppins kind of heroine: positively perfect in every way. She has come to the estate as a companion to the young teenage girl and the grandmother as she wants to pay off her father's debts. She puts the snotty teenager in her place in seconds flat; wins over the grandmother; enrages the hero at every opportunity, and is apparently built like a brick house. She's mighty mighty and letting' it all hang out... For once we have a voluptuous heroine who is not afraid of her own curves and is actually amused at people's reactions: men run into walls and the evil OW meows.
So we have a kickass heroine with a sense of humor, a sweet teenager and her equally nice grandmother, a taciturn hero, a despicable evil woman who gets her walking papers, and an incompetent OM that gets a black eye!
What I would like to know is how we go from a kickass, fun-to-read heroine like Renata written in 1979 that has a sense of humor, a sense of purpose and enough self-respect to make the hero fall for her to the current stable of blithering, spineless, Mary Sue Martyr idiots that moisten with all the other paint by the number body part explosions?
Crossing my fingers that this is not a one off for Mary Wibberley.
I think Renata deserves a little send off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBx6...
but this was great and all due to the heroine. Renata is a 4 star, Mary Poppins kind of heroine: positively perfect in every way. She has come to the estate as a companion to the young teenage girl and the grandmother as she wants to pay off her father's debts. She puts the snotty teenager in her place in seconds flat; wins over the grandmother; enrages the hero at every opportunity, and is apparently built like a brick house. She's mighty mighty and letting' it all hang out... For once we have a voluptuous heroine who is not afraid of her own curves and is actually amused at people's reactions: men run into walls and the evil OW meows.
So we have a kickass heroine with a sense of humor, a sweet teenager and her equally nice grandmother, a taciturn hero, a despicable evil woman who gets her walking papers, and an incompetent OM that gets a black eye!
What I would like to know is how we go from a kickass, fun-to-read heroine like Renata written in 1979 that has a sense of humor, a sense of purpose and enough self-respect to make the hero fall for her to the current stable of blithering, spineless, Mary Sue Martyr idiots that moisten with all the other paint by the number body part explosions?
Crossing my fingers that this is not a one off for Mary Wibberley.
I think Renata deserves a little send off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBx6...
October 31, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️ three stars -
Three stars for this one, my second Mary Wibberley novel; “Debt of Dishonour”. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed some of her style trademarks (more on that to come), but not as much as I enjoyed her, “Man of Power”. Review for that other Wibberley book can be found here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For those new to my reviews, here are a few quick facts about me and my Harley reviews:
. The fact that this review exists means that I liked this book, and that I do recommend it. I am not reviewing each and every HQ I read, because I read a lot and I don’t intend to make reviewing a chore!
. I can sometimes read a HQ a day (I don’t watch a lot of tv, media, what have you), and I read fast 📖
. I have a HQ shelf under my profile. It includes the Harlequins I enjoyed, with maybe one or two rogue reviews that deserved a poison pen note 😂✍️
Now on to the story review of, “Debt of Dishonour”…
I am enjoying these reads by Wibberley! This book, originally published in 1980, is one of the author’s more popular books (according to her Goodreads list). Wibberley published forty-eight novels with Harlequin, and I found her titles in my tried and true fashion - by stalking fellow reviewer’s “favorites” shelves 💁♀️.
Wibberley was a very talented writer. I love this story since it’s an out-of-the-lines story. The unique setting is what helped move this into the higher-starred rating zone for me. The scene is an English country estate (just outside of London) that appears to be a medieval castle. The home is described in detail as being occupied in half by the family, and the other half is open to the public on touring days. I just adored this behind-the-scenes view of a public estate! This part was so lovingly described, and I just devoured it!
Our heroine, Renata, is described as a Girl Wonder, which is a trait that I usually don’t like (my review of Heyer’s “Grand Sophy” comes to mind 😂), but it didn’t irritate me too much since she quickly developed a character flaw - an unfortunate longing for our Hero, her employer. She’s also pretty likable in that she’s not constantly forcing her greatness on others. She often tries to distance herself from our Hero, Greg, so I gave her points for that. Being humble is a good trait to have when you’re a little Miss Star lol.
Greg is a Hero that I liked. In true Wibberley fashion, he’s smitten. Our heroine, as per usual, is the last one to realize this fact, and that’s where all the fun comes in. Seeing our Hero burn with jealousy as he rants, punches the OM villain, throws over the evil OW, and finally succumbs to lust is the fun of the story. Well, mostly fun.
The scene where our Hero resorts to what I first thought was slapstick, but is actually him having a temper tantrum at the expense of our heroine was not fun. Renata actually felt unsafe by his actions, but this type of scene appears to be a trademark of Wibberley’s. I honestly thought it was supposed to be fun humor until our heroine started to cry in fear. Was this the reason for the loss of the star? Nope. This action made the story for me. While I didn’t like the Hero’s harshness to our heroine in this catalyst scene, he is harsh for most of the story, so not entirely out of character. Outdated? Sure, but still within the realm of his character arc for me 💁♀️.
What’s with the loss of the fourth star; which this story pretty much deserved? A few minor missing plot threads where it was clear that a sloppy editor chopped for time; and the very, very crazy-rushed ending. So much was cut at the final scene, which was overall a nicely done finish; then BAM! Someone came in with a pair of scissors and just simply cut off entire pages of the ending (metaphorically speaking). Just sad. 😢 Reasonable for a Harley, though; but I can still be disappointed.
Overall, a mostly fun, entertaining, and unusual out-of-the HQ-box setting. I enjoyed it and would recommend.
May re-read at some point.
Three solid stars.
Three stars for this one, my second Mary Wibberley novel; “Debt of Dishonour”. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed some of her style trademarks (more on that to come), but not as much as I enjoyed her, “Man of Power”. Review for that other Wibberley book can be found here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For those new to my reviews, here are a few quick facts about me and my Harley reviews:
. The fact that this review exists means that I liked this book, and that I do recommend it. I am not reviewing each and every HQ I read, because I read a lot and I don’t intend to make reviewing a chore!
. I can sometimes read a HQ a day (I don’t watch a lot of tv, media, what have you), and I read fast 📖
. I have a HQ shelf under my profile. It includes the Harlequins I enjoyed, with maybe one or two rogue reviews that deserved a poison pen note 😂✍️
Now on to the story review of, “Debt of Dishonour”…
I am enjoying these reads by Wibberley! This book, originally published in 1980, is one of the author’s more popular books (according to her Goodreads list). Wibberley published forty-eight novels with Harlequin, and I found her titles in my tried and true fashion - by stalking fellow reviewer’s “favorites” shelves 💁♀️.
Wibberley was a very talented writer. I love this story since it’s an out-of-the-lines story. The unique setting is what helped move this into the higher-starred rating zone for me. The scene is an English country estate (just outside of London) that appears to be a medieval castle. The home is described in detail as being occupied in half by the family, and the other half is open to the public on touring days. I just adored this behind-the-scenes view of a public estate! This part was so lovingly described, and I just devoured it!
Our heroine, Renata, is described as a Girl Wonder, which is a trait that I usually don’t like (my review of Heyer’s “Grand Sophy” comes to mind 😂), but it didn’t irritate me too much since she quickly developed a character flaw - an unfortunate longing for our Hero, her employer. She’s also pretty likable in that she’s not constantly forcing her greatness on others. She often tries to distance herself from our Hero, Greg, so I gave her points for that. Being humble is a good trait to have when you’re a little Miss Star lol.
Greg is a Hero that I liked. In true Wibberley fashion, he’s smitten. Our heroine, as per usual, is the last one to realize this fact, and that’s where all the fun comes in. Seeing our Hero burn with jealousy as he rants, punches the OM villain, throws over the evil OW, and finally succumbs to lust is the fun of the story. Well, mostly fun.
The scene where our Hero resorts to what I first thought was slapstick, but is actually him having a temper tantrum at the expense of our heroine was not fun. Renata actually felt unsafe by his actions, but this type of scene appears to be a trademark of Wibberley’s. I honestly thought it was supposed to be fun humor until our heroine started to cry in fear. Was this the reason for the loss of the star? Nope. This action made the story for me. While I didn’t like the Hero’s harshness to our heroine in this catalyst scene, he is harsh for most of the story, so not entirely out of character. Outdated? Sure, but still within the realm of his character arc for me 💁♀️.
What’s with the loss of the fourth star; which this story pretty much deserved? A few minor missing plot threads where it was clear that a sloppy editor chopped for time; and the very, very crazy-rushed ending. So much was cut at the final scene, which was overall a nicely done finish; then BAM! Someone came in with a pair of scissors and just simply cut off entire pages of the ending (metaphorically speaking). Just sad. 😢 Reasonable for a Harley, though; but I can still be disappointed.
Overall, a mostly fun, entertaining, and unusual out-of-the HQ-box setting. I enjoyed it and would recommend.
May re-read at some point.
Three solid stars.
November 23, 2019
There are lots of great reviews on this one. I really enjoyed this old skool story. Renata is hired to be a companion to an older woman and a teenage girl. These relationships were my favorite in the book. Renata's boss Greg, who is the grandson/uncle to the above ladies is a tall, sexy drink of water. For whatever reason, Renata insists on thinking the worst of Greg and imagines that he hates her. There is an evil OW/OM but we discover their pettiness early on and Greg sends them both packing.
A fun detail of the book is a Fortuny dress that Renata borrows from the grandmother. She wears it to a big society party and of course, she looks gorgeous and causes the OW to eat her heart out. There are some gorgeous images of Fortuny dresses if you care to Google them.
The romance in the book seems to take the back seat. Most of the book is spent with the H/h denying their feelings and behaving more like strangers than people falling in love. Things finally come to a head in the last chapter and we get our HEA. I would have liked a little more romance, but I did enjoy the other aspects to the story.
Kisses only (but they were ravenous HQ kisses) and the only sex scene is fade to black.
Safety:
A fun detail of the book is a Fortuny dress that Renata borrows from the grandmother. She wears it to a big society party and of course, she looks gorgeous and causes the OW to eat her heart out. There are some gorgeous images of Fortuny dresses if you care to Google them.
The romance in the book seems to take the back seat. Most of the book is spent with the H/h denying their feelings and behaving more like strangers than people falling in love. Things finally come to a head in the last chapter and we get our HEA. I would have liked a little more romance, but I did enjoy the other aspects to the story.
Kisses only (but they were ravenous HQ kisses) and the only sex scene is fade to black.
Safety:
February 16, 2018
I had to read this after I read Naksed and Vintage’s reviews. I agree with everything they said and I truly liked this heroine!
September 19, 2017
Sadly, the ending got in the way of a really good story. Too bad, because the plot was delightful. We have a fun, strong, lovable heroine who excels at everything she does. (I was starting to get a complex) An alpha hero without all the asshat traits. A delightful, quirky niece and grandmother who surprisingly add interest. And the best part, an evil OW (and OM) who get their comeuppance on the spot.
Read
November 17, 2023It’s the one with the gowns.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2012
This was an interesting older HP. The heroine was written as calm and cool and collected. The hero would have greatly benefited by having a few scenes in his POV. The major portion of the story took place over a week and the end came after a month and felt odd because their feelings seemed extreme for the amount of time that passed. And here the book could have been saved from that by just throwing in the words early the next week several times and it would have been more believable. The biggest problem with the book is that it ended suddenly in only two pages. There was insufficient sorting out of details and I was left wanting to know more about what the hero had been feeling throughout the falling in love portion of the story and his I love you was sort of lame too. However there were some very strong scenes in this book that with just a little more details and description would have been killer.The hero was a very alpha guy and not in a nasty HP way but in a good way. I think had this book been written more recently he would have been developed much more along those lines. So nice but kind of missed the mark for a modern reader.
August 4, 2022
MCs were not logical but at least h had a steelspine and H had intelligence to understand OW‘s plot.
July 14, 2019
Which of the two was the more impossible?
Renata felt she had no choice but to accept the position as tutor. Her father's debt must be paid. But faced with a rebellious teenage charge who had already "been through "several other tutors, Renata had her hands full.
Even worse was the prospect of facing the girl's uncle, Greg Masters, every day. As Renata's employer, he was satisfied with her credentials, but he seemed to hate her personally.
Which, as far as Renata cared, was just fine. Or so she told herself--at first
Renata felt she had no choice but to accept the position as tutor. Her father's debt must be paid. But faced with a rebellious teenage charge who had already "been through "several other tutors, Renata had her hands full.
Even worse was the prospect of facing the girl's uncle, Greg Masters, every day. As Renata's employer, he was satisfied with her credentials, but he seemed to hate her personally.
Which, as far as Renata cared, was just fine. Or so she told herself--at first
June 2, 2022
One of those lovely, quintessentially English old style HPs with a strong, capable heroine and a smitten, angry Hero with his own castle. Throw in an elegant, charming invalid grandmother and recalcitrant teen who just needs a firm, understanding governess and the scene is set. Fabulous sexual tension. Enjoyed this.
February 10, 2016
Parts of the book were interesting but the ending was ridiculous. The whole MOC proposal was unbelievable in light of the chemistry between them and their reactions to each other.
June 4, 2022
So this is one of those stories I didn’t realize I needed until after I read it. It was very satisfying!
There are already reviews out there that have covered this story better than I can and their 4 star ratings are what put this book to the top of the heap. I waited to read their reviews until after I was done reading the story to avoid any spoilage.
Naksed has an excellent review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
There is also Stmargarets:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And Vintage
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Of course, I should just leave it at this and move on to my next story, but alas I have to make some sort of comment(s)about things I really enjoyed.
1) The heroine is described tall and has just the right amount of “curve” appeal. She can rock a fortuny dress better than the “it” girls of the 1920’s.
2) No matter where the heroine is, she knows how to wow her audience. She knows how to bring out the best in her 14 year old abrasive charge in a matter of hours by giving the girl a few truths. She gets along well with her elderly companion sparking some life into the old gal, and makes the opposite sex turn their heads when she enters a room. On top of this she takes responsibility for her dead father’s debts and isn’t looking for the easy way out. She can sew like nobody’s business without patterns!!
Yet with all of this she is somewhat unaware of how powerful her attraction to others is. Case in point the hero…
3) It is somewhat obvious the hero is besotted with the heroine right away. I mean a dinner engagement with the ow ends quite early the first night the h is there. The next day, he is suddenly available to take her and the niece to town as he has a “business” engagement. He bristles with jealousy at the unwanted attention the h gets from other men, and even though our h can take care of herself, and even though I oppose violence, the H is not unwilling to defend his lady love with a little physical altercation. Plus he has no qualms about ridding the himself of the ow and unwanted om when they show their true colors! So yeah, I can get onboard with this H.
4) Written in 1980, this book will be more tame than your modern offerings. However, MW is able to weave in that delicious tension in the story that makes the lack of sexy times inconsequential.
5) lots of great banter and private thoughts in this book from the characters. The teenager has some good lines and the h actually sizes up the H at one point and uses the word “machismo” to describe him. She thinks it in the spirit that is meant, uncomplimentary.
So, I have already said more than I planned on, but I cannot let the end of the story go. It is true to say, that the characters only get about a page to declare their love and they have a fade to black consummation of that love. Now, I would have preferred a longer wrap up, yet MW gives us a masterful scene of the 2 in France at a private pool. These 2 are both so sexually frustrated that it all comes to an explosive lead up to the end(like the last 4 pages). In the scene, the h shows all his frustration and jealousy while the h (who was sunbathing topless) takes off her cover up robe and basically taunts the H with a “so what are you going to do about it” She then jumps in the pool to add exclamation marks to her comment. It wasn’t quite like that but it was just another way that MW reasserts in her remaining pages that the H is all alpha and our h is all woman.
Vintage, in her fine review, uses the song Brickhouse which is very apropos to describe the h. However, I can’t help but think of Helen Reddy’s song I Am Woman to describe her too!
🎶 I am woman, hear me roar…….
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong🎶
Even though I wasn’t even potty trained when this came out, it is also an iconic song. Sadly, while looking up the lyrics I learned that Helen Reddy passed in 2020. Her death was probably overshadowed by a little thing called Covid!
There are already reviews out there that have covered this story better than I can and their 4 star ratings are what put this book to the top of the heap. I waited to read their reviews until after I was done reading the story to avoid any spoilage.
Naksed has an excellent review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
There is also Stmargarets:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And Vintage
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Of course, I should just leave it at this and move on to my next story, but alas I have to make some sort of comment(s)about things I really enjoyed.
1) The heroine is described tall and has just the right amount of “curve” appeal. She can rock a fortuny dress better than the “it” girls of the 1920’s.
2) No matter where the heroine is, she knows how to wow her audience. She knows how to bring out the best in her 14 year old abrasive charge in a matter of hours by giving the girl a few truths. She gets along well with her elderly companion sparking some life into the old gal, and makes the opposite sex turn their heads when she enters a room. On top of this she takes responsibility for her dead father’s debts and isn’t looking for the easy way out. She can sew like nobody’s business without patterns!!
Yet with all of this she is somewhat unaware of how powerful her attraction to others is. Case in point the hero…
3) It is somewhat obvious the hero is besotted with the heroine right away. I mean a dinner engagement with the ow ends quite early the first night the h is there. The next day, he is suddenly available to take her and the niece to town as he has a “business” engagement. He bristles with jealousy at the unwanted attention the h gets from other men, and even though our h can take care of herself, and even though I oppose violence, the H is not unwilling to defend his lady love with a little physical altercation. Plus he has no qualms about ridding the himself of the ow and unwanted om when they show their true colors! So yeah, I can get onboard with this H.
4) Written in 1980, this book will be more tame than your modern offerings. However, MW is able to weave in that delicious tension in the story that makes the lack of sexy times inconsequential.
5) lots of great banter and private thoughts in this book from the characters. The teenager has some good lines and the h actually sizes up the H at one point and uses the word “machismo” to describe him. She thinks it in the spirit that is meant, uncomplimentary.
So, I have already said more than I planned on, but I cannot let the end of the story go. It is true to say, that the characters only get about a page to declare their love and they have a fade to black consummation of that love. Now, I would have preferred a longer wrap up, yet MW gives us a masterful scene of the 2 in France at a private pool. These 2 are both so sexually frustrated that it all comes to an explosive lead up to the end(like the last 4 pages). In the scene, the h shows all his frustration and jealousy while the h (who was sunbathing topless) takes off her cover up robe and basically taunts the H with a “so what are you going to do about it” She then jumps in the pool to add exclamation marks to her comment. It wasn’t quite like that but it was just another way that MW reasserts in her remaining pages that the H is all alpha and our h is all woman.
Vintage, in her fine review, uses the song Brickhouse which is very apropos to describe the h. However, I can’t help but think of Helen Reddy’s song I Am Woman to describe her too!
🎶 I am woman, hear me roar…….
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong🎶
Even though I wasn’t even potty trained when this came out, it is also an iconic song. Sadly, while looking up the lyrics I learned that Helen Reddy passed in 2020. Her death was probably overshadowed by a little thing called Covid!
November 14, 2024
This had potential and I enjoyed it up until the OW encounter in York. The hero’s niece is great - my favourite character - and a lovely Grandma. Shopping in York - what’s not to like? But there was so much that was left hanging - it’s almost like the author had a tick box to fill:
- initial sizing up encounter where heroine shows she is her own person
- hot, tall and muscular man descending from a horse in Mr Darcy style
- heroine has a secret
- hero has a bitch OW who is richer than heroine
- but heroine has very big breasts (hero is transfixed)
- heroine gets hero’s family on-side
- hero sees heroine looking gorgeous and is bowled over
- hero is jealous because other men find heroine devastatingly attractive
- shopping and cake putting
- OW hates heroine because she is stunning
- Cinderella dress up - including shoes, bag and a makeup session by the niece!
- big misunderstanding at party
- devastating and furious kisses ensue
- OW dumped
… all boxes ticked and now strong heroine is weepy at everything, has to save her brother/the grandma
- more jealous scenes
- marriage
… although the catalyst of topless door opening misunderstanding was a new one and much appreciated.
- Rubbish ILY at the end where weepy, sated heroine all drippy and overplays the love you (hero always needs to love first and more rule is not in play here).
It could have been a 5 star if the heroine had stayed strong, if the OW had not been so seedy, if little things had had more purpose (like his buying the books, explaining how he knew her brother because we don’t find anything about her dad’s big financial mess).
I think the niece would make a good heroine though - perhaps she is one in a later book?
I’m beginning to not like MW heroes that much as they make great heroines become mediocre.
- initial sizing up encounter where heroine shows she is her own person
- hot, tall and muscular man descending from a horse in Mr Darcy style
- heroine has a secret
- hero has a bitch OW who is richer than heroine
- but heroine has very big breasts (hero is transfixed)
- heroine gets hero’s family on-side
- hero sees heroine looking gorgeous and is bowled over
- hero is jealous because other men find heroine devastatingly attractive
- shopping and cake putting
- OW hates heroine because she is stunning
- Cinderella dress up - including shoes, bag and a makeup session by the niece!
- big misunderstanding at party
- devastating and furious kisses ensue
- OW dumped
… all boxes ticked and now strong heroine is weepy at everything, has to save her brother/the grandma
- more jealous scenes
- marriage
… although the catalyst of topless door opening misunderstanding was a new one and much appreciated.
- Rubbish ILY at the end where weepy, sated heroine all drippy and overplays the love you (hero always needs to love first and more rule is not in play here).
It could have been a 5 star if the heroine had stayed strong, if the OW had not been so seedy, if little things had had more purpose (like his buying the books, explaining how he knew her brother because we don’t find anything about her dad’s big financial mess).
I think the niece would make a good heroine though - perhaps she is one in a later book?
I’m beginning to not like MW heroes that much as they make great heroines become mediocre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2021
He is a besotted H. I think he loves her more than she loves him.
She is a bit cold and a bit stupid.
The cold act: She kisses the male cousin of the OW (whom she had only seen one time before) at a party where she has gone to with the H. Not classy.
The stupid act: at that same party she takes off her dress in a bedroom with that cousin, because that cousin had spilt some wine on her dress. Why would you undress yourself in a bedroom with a man you hardly know. Why not say to him to leave the bedroom before you get undressed.
Anyway, the scene at the bookstore where the H (without asking) buys the books she wants but she doesn’t have money for, was so charming. I fell in love with him then, lol.
I rate this 3 stars. Or 3,5.
I take one star off because of the abrupt ending (the writer really should have written a few pages more at the end).
And I take one star off because he deserves a better woman than this h who lets herself get kissed and kissed and kissed again at a party by a guy she hardly knows and where she is with the H.
She is a bit cold and a bit stupid.
The cold act: She kisses the male cousin of the OW (whom she had only seen one time before) at a party where she has gone to with the H. Not classy.
The stupid act: at that same party she takes off her dress in a bedroom with that cousin, because that cousin had spilt some wine on her dress. Why would you undress yourself in a bedroom with a man you hardly know. Why not say to him to leave the bedroom before you get undressed.
Anyway, the scene at the bookstore where the H (without asking) buys the books she wants but she doesn’t have money for, was so charming. I fell in love with him then, lol.
I rate this 3 stars. Or 3,5.
I take one star off because of the abrupt ending (the writer really should have written a few pages more at the end).
And I take one star off because he deserves a better woman than this h who lets herself get kissed and kissed and kissed again at a party by a guy she hardly knows and where she is with the H.
October 16, 2018
Loved this story and both lead characters and along with Snow on the Hills was my favourite of Mary Wibberley novels.
October 9, 2018
Non che fosse questo granchè, ma a finirlo ce l’avrei anche fatta. Se non fosse per il piccolo dettaglio che, terminato il capitolo 7, leggo qualche pagina del capitolo 8 e capisco che manca una scena. Torno indietro, ritrovo l’ultimo punto chiave e dopo null’altro. È evidente che si sono persi qualche pezzo, perché i protagonisti discutono di un fatto che non è mai accaduto. O meglio, non è mai stato stampato. Almeno in questa versione. Pace.
December 6, 2022
As vintage HPs go this was one of the better ones.
The drop dead gorgeous heroine was smart and competent, she won over the grandmother and the young girl (her charge) in one day, plus She is skilled at everything she does, tennis, swimming and dress making.
The besotted Hero could not help falling for her.
I dropped a star for the super abrupt ending, though, would have wanted a bit more but oh well, its about par for most vintage harlequins.
Available on Open Library.
The drop dead gorgeous heroine was smart and competent, she won over the grandmother and the young girl (her charge) in one day, plus She is skilled at everything she does, tennis, swimming and dress making.
The besotted Hero could not help falling for her.
I dropped a star for the super abrupt ending, though, would have wanted a bit more but oh well, its about par for most vintage harlequins.
Available on Open Library.
June 29, 2023
i liked the heroine (Renata) a lot. she was accomplished, spoken many languages, was good at tennis, liked taking walks, likes dogs, had a good fashion sense, did not let people disrespect her, and so on. all of this made her a great heroine.
i was slightly underwhelmed by the hero (Greg) but his and heroine's interactions were great. the addition of Gran and Cristina was good. and i liked that the OW and OM got exposed.
this was a good read though, the book did had an abrupt ending.
i was slightly underwhelmed by the hero (Greg) but his and heroine's interactions were great. the addition of Gran and Cristina was good. and i liked that the OW and OM got exposed.
this was a good read though, the book did had an abrupt ending.
August 6, 2022
Loved how H saw through the OW and her cats paw wanna be OM and kicked her out. However I think the entire story is under three weeks and that includes two weeks of wedding prep. Fast love there.
Enjoyed both H and the strong, determined h, grandma and niece. I think this is the first romance by Mary Wibberley I like.
Enjoyed both H and the strong, determined h, grandma and niece. I think this is the first romance by Mary Wibberley I like.
June 8, 2022
I thought this was going to be a revenge story or at the least the h carrying a big grudge against the H. It wasn’t that and the last 20 % was kind of confusing and ending very abrupt. Disappointing!
Read
December 31, 2019Ended abruptly. A smart and sensible h.
December 6, 2021
Ending was a bit stretched..otherwise good
September 2, 2025
Three stars based solely on the strength of the FMC's character - there's chemistry but little romance between the main characters, and the MMC is harsh and physically brutal, forcing himself on the FMC repeatedly - until I got to the ridiculous MOC and the rushed, disappointing ending.
July 28, 2016
....SKADOOSH. (Yeah, sorry, I've read this book the same day I watched Kung Fu Panda 3).
I just mean I didn't like it.
I just mean I didn't like it.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews