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Master of the House
One rash promise changed her life
All woman are the same," Alaric Stoddart told her firmly. "They're after two things only--money and marriage, in that order."
It was an unpleasant welcome for Petra Bain on the eve of starting her new job as a guide in the historic Stoddart mansion.
Particularly as she was not after the Stoddart money, and she would not have married the arrogant, autocratic master of the house if he had been the last man on earth.
All woman are the same," Alaric Stoddart told her firmly. "They're after two things only--money and marriage, in that order."
It was an unpleasant welcome for Petra Bain on the eve of starting her new job as a guide in the historic Stoddart mansion.
Particularly as she was not after the Stoddart money, and she would not have married the arrogant, autocratic master of the house if he had been the last man on earth.
- GenresHarlequin Romance
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Lilian Peake
133 books68 followersLilian Margaret Peake was born on 25 May 1924 in London, England, UK. During the World War II, she moved to the countryside.
Her early ambition was to be a journalist, and she ended up working at various newspapers and magazines around England. She also married and started a family, and eventually she decided start to writing romance novels. She wrote over 65 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1971 to 1996 as Lilian Peake.
Lilian passed away in 27 May 1997.
Her early ambition was to be a journalist, and she ended up working at various newspapers and magazines around England. She also married and started a family, and eventually she decided start to writing romance novels. She wrote over 65 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1971 to 1996 as Lilian Peake.
Lilian passed away in 27 May 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 3, 2018
Well, this novel was a HUGE miss !
The heroine, Petra, had been dating the H's younger brother before she met the H. To be honest, I found that relationship ( between Petra and the H's brother ) a bit weird because they spent a lot of time kissing and making out but the heroine always claimed that she wasn't serious about him.
The H Alaric also kept repeating, throughout the story, that he had a steady girlfriend called Yvette. That was very icky. His relatives were comfortable with the fact that Yvette was his steady, long term girlfriend yet there were indications that that didn't stop him ( the H ) from having his occasional flings with women on the side.
Both MC's seemed to lack chemistry and the H didn't even appear to be jealous, for the first 50% of the story, that Petra and his brother had been dating each other. I don't like it when H's take such a long time to become jealous of other men paying attention to the heroine. Alaric seemed more concerned that Petra was an actress ( an unsuccessful, struggling actress ) who was therefore unsuitable for his brother.
Too much of the story was spent on extraneous details about the H's family estate, which was this huge stately home; the H's father was a Baronet and the H was the heir. I just couldn't get involved with this story at all. It seemed to drag on and on in a monotonous manner. The author attempted to inject some trainwrecky drama in the final quarter by including a sudden engagement between the MC's. However, even that left a bad taste in my mouth because the H acted like a obnoxious jerk when he not only invited the OW Yvette but proceeded to flirt, and spend time in his bedroom, with her while he ignored the heroine. It seemed just stupid, tasteless and pointless. The minor characters, like the H's younger sister and her boyfriend, were also annoying. This didn't seem like a novel written by Lilian Peake - except for the H being a major asshole. It was just too boring for long stretches. And, to make things worse, the MC's were both clueless and kept arguing over dumb boring shit. They were never on the same page at the same time, their on/off engagement status was confusing to me and their temporary separation was even more pointless.
October 22, 2009
The hero of this story, Alaric,
has
to be one of the most domineering alpha-males of vintage Harlequin memory....
...I adored him at age 15.
...I'd smack him upside the head if he were a real man today.
...I adored him at age 15.
...I'd smack him upside the head if he were a real man today.
July 21, 2026
“Master of the house” is the story of Petra and Alaric.
If you don’t like long winded romances, this isn’t for you!
Heroine is a failed actress, who has a friend she sometimes kisses. They are miserably poor together, until she realizes he hails from a rich family and has a protective older brother. He offers her a job at his home, she reluctantly accepts.
He unfortunately decides to drink and drive, that results in an accident and his judgemental brother rescues them. The hero thinks she’s a gold digger, she thinks he is rich and pompous.
Thus begins a war of sorts- the heroine does various jobs at his home, the younger sister/ brother duo provides insane amount of drama, her friend keeps kissing her every time the hero walks in, his model girlfriend won’t let him go.. there are many moments of jealousy, drama, fake engagements , outbursts, tears, yearning, running away, confessions and a happy ending.
Messy but enjoyable read. She is very self reliant and independent, he’s caring and supportive. I found their romance sweet at times, didn’t enjoy the “ring and blood” episode, but he did chase after her in a big confession which won me over.
SWE
4/5
If you don’t like long winded romances, this isn’t for you!
Heroine is a failed actress, who has a friend she sometimes kisses. They are miserably poor together, until she realizes he hails from a rich family and has a protective older brother. He offers her a job at his home, she reluctantly accepts.
He unfortunately decides to drink and drive, that results in an accident and his judgemental brother rescues them. The hero thinks she’s a gold digger, she thinks he is rich and pompous.
Thus begins a war of sorts- the heroine does various jobs at his home, the younger sister/ brother duo provides insane amount of drama, her friend keeps kissing her every time the hero walks in, his model girlfriend won’t let him go.. there are many moments of jealousy, drama, fake engagements , outbursts, tears, yearning, running away, confessions and a happy ending.
Messy but enjoyable read. She is very self reliant and independent, he’s caring and supportive. I found their romance sweet at times, didn’t enjoy the “ring and blood” episode, but he did chase after her in a big confession which won me over.
SWE
4/5
July 28, 2021
Very LP. She has no spine, he is nearly sociopathic.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
August 7, 2022One rash promise changed her life
All woman are the same," Alaric Stoddart told her firmly. "They're after two things only--money and marriage, in that order."
It was an unpleasant welcome for Petra Bain on the eve of starting her new job as a guide in the historic Stoddart mansion.
Particularly as she was not after the Stoddart money, and she would not have married the arrogant, autocratic master of the house if he had been the last man on earth.
All woman are the same," Alaric Stoddart told her firmly. "They're after two things only--money and marriage, in that order."
It was an unpleasant welcome for Petra Bain on the eve of starting her new job as a guide in the historic Stoddart mansion.
Particularly as she was not after the Stoddart money, and she would not have married the arrogant, autocratic master of the house if he had been the last man on earth.
April 29, 2023
A very bad actress meets the rich heir while being his brother's so-called girlfriend
Petra is an impoverished actress who agrees to become a guide on her fellow actor's estate only to be informed by his older disagreeable brother that there's no such vacancy.
Soon an announcemnet in the newspaper states that she's engaged to the heir of the estate.
Petra is an impoverished actress who agrees to become a guide on her fellow actor's estate only to be informed by his older disagreeable brother that there's no such vacancy.
Soon an announcemnet in the newspaper states that she's engaged to the heir of the estate.
March 9, 2026
Ridiculous farce involving a love triangle between a hopelessly bad actress and two aristocratic brothers who are fighting over her, a fake engagement, an ancestral manor house complete with historical legends, and an OW named Lady Yvette who pops up every minute like a skanky Jack in the box.
December 12, 2011
A hard book to rate.....
I shall start by saying that this is my all-time favourite sick-day-book. The writing style is easy to read and the plot flows very smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that you needn't a great deal of brain-power in order to keep up with it. I vividly remember my second reading of this novel, in which I realised that I'd accidently skipped a chapter..... and it hadn't mattered one iota to the story-line.
This novel is full of clichés and been-there-done-that plot twists; but they are so well done that you find yourself not really caring! A lovely, light-hearted novel that is still suitable for younger folks.
I shall start by saying that this is my all-time favourite sick-day-book. The writing style is easy to read and the plot flows very smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that you needn't a great deal of brain-power in order to keep up with it. I vividly remember my second reading of this novel, in which I realised that I'd accidently skipped a chapter..... and it hadn't mattered one iota to the story-line.
This novel is full of clichés and been-there-done-that plot twists; but they are so well done that you find yourself not really caring! A lovely, light-hearted novel that is still suitable for younger folks.
April 20, 2020
Whilst the characters would not fit well in 21st century gender politics if you can read this without today's sensibility. I first read this around 1978 age 12/13. I really enjoyed this the first time I read it. The relationship is a bit fraught and the male character rather cruel and dominant which is pretty much Lilian Peake's speciality.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews