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Sapphire Heart
Book by Hayton Monteith
Paperback
First published December 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 16, 2026
Though the story was pretty over-the-top, some parts were good and could hold your interest, like the h's late grandfather leaving her a secret letter, carefully hidden, where he tells her his impending death will be murder, then leaves other clues using sherlock Holmes books in the library. that was intriguing, and so was the hints of ghostly presences (the grandfather as well as his daughter, the h's late mother), secrets rooms and passageways in the old house, several murder attempts on the h, and suspicions that her mother's death was not an accidental drowning.
There's also the question as to who the h's father was. Her mother was going to tell her about him, but she died before that could happen.
All that was good, as well as the h setting up the mansion to help young women in need of a place to stay; their stories were interesting, as well.
But as for the story form the H and h, that really fell flat. It starts off with a bad vibe, with the teenage h discovering the H swimming nude and deciding to join him au naturel; since she was 14 and he was 24, that was NOT a good idea! Luckily, the H put a stop to that ASAP, but the problem was, he was just as horny for her as she was for him! (I guess the fact they're "destined soulmates" makes it okay for a man to want a girl who could have been his kid sister.)
Destiny or not, their story just gets silly, as she spends the next few years being snarky and nasty to him because she still wants him and is hurt by his rejection. (Actually, she should have been glad since a grown man is doing the right thing by keeping a romantic distance from a teenage girl, but since teenagers are usually self-centered, she was acting true to form.) Then, she plays flirty games with other guys and eventually sleeps one of them but was disappointed and decided to skip sex after that and concentrate on her career, as well as all the sports that she somehow seemed to be an expert at, until the right man comes along (but we all know who that'll be). Meanwhile, he was still as hot for her as ever, but kept his distance, slept with other women and at the same time kept tabs on the h (aka spying, it seems), until the story brings them back together, they feel the same attraction, get married (more out of lust than love) and that seems to be their whole marriage, having sex, wanting to have sex, talking about wanting to have sex, and no matter what else is going on (like attempts on her life) it doesn't diminish their horniness.
The book took a stupid turn after the mysteries were solved (and I guess both the killer and the h's father correctly), by throwing in one of those dumb misunderstandings that had no place so near the end of the book. The h blurts out that she's pregnant, the H wasn't happy at first because he wanted more time alone with the h (more time to get naked without a big belly getting in the way, I'm guessing), the h gets hurt and there's a strain between them for a while, but that doesn't stop them from having sex (big surprise). Why the author decided to throw in silly nonsense like this when the book was almost finished, I'll never understand, unless she thought the readers would like it??? Well, this reader sure didn't!
Stories where the couple seems to have nothing in common besides their overactive hormones just get ridiculous, and I remember someone who reviewed another book in the Candlelight series saying that unlike others (Harlequin and Silhouette, I'm thinking), these books never end with you thinking HEA but rather HFN.
I have the feeling this couple's "for now" didn't last, despite the kid.
There's also the question as to who the h's father was. Her mother was going to tell her about him, but she died before that could happen.
All that was good, as well as the h setting up the mansion to help young women in need of a place to stay; their stories were interesting, as well.
But as for the story form the H and h, that really fell flat. It starts off with a bad vibe, with the teenage h discovering the H swimming nude and deciding to join him au naturel; since she was 14 and he was 24, that was NOT a good idea! Luckily, the H put a stop to that ASAP, but the problem was, he was just as horny for her as she was for him! (I guess the fact they're "destined soulmates" makes it okay for a man to want a girl who could have been his kid sister.)
Destiny or not, their story just gets silly, as she spends the next few years being snarky and nasty to him because she still wants him and is hurt by his rejection. (Actually, she should have been glad since a grown man is doing the right thing by keeping a romantic distance from a teenage girl, but since teenagers are usually self-centered, she was acting true to form.) Then, she plays flirty games with other guys and eventually sleeps one of them but was disappointed and decided to skip sex after that and concentrate on her career, as well as all the sports that she somehow seemed to be an expert at, until the right man comes along (but we all know who that'll be). Meanwhile, he was still as hot for her as ever, but kept his distance, slept with other women and at the same time kept tabs on the h (aka spying, it seems), until the story brings them back together, they feel the same attraction, get married (more out of lust than love) and that seems to be their whole marriage, having sex, wanting to have sex, talking about wanting to have sex, and no matter what else is going on (like attempts on her life) it doesn't diminish their horniness.
The book took a stupid turn after the mysteries were solved (and I guess both the killer and the h's father correctly), by throwing in one of those dumb misunderstandings that had no place so near the end of the book. The h blurts out that she's pregnant, the H wasn't happy at first because he wanted more time alone with the h (more time to get naked without a big belly getting in the way, I'm guessing), the h gets hurt and there's a strain between them for a while, but that doesn't stop them from having sex (big surprise). Why the author decided to throw in silly nonsense like this when the book was almost finished, I'll never understand, unless she thought the readers would like it??? Well, this reader sure didn't!
Stories where the couple seems to have nothing in common besides their overactive hormones just get ridiculous, and I remember someone who reviewed another book in the Candlelight series saying that unlike others (Harlequin and Silhouette, I'm thinking), these books never end with you thinking HEA but rather HFN.
I have the feeling this couple's "for now" didn't last, despite the kid.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review