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Man of Iron
He thought she was just a gold digger!
Until her adoptive mother died suddenly, Antonia Grant hadn't known that her natural mother had kept a distant watch over her. So it was disconcerting to meet her for the first time.
Antonia loved Diana immediately, and the beauty of her Brazilian home helped to assuage Antonia's grief. Just one thing was wrong. Diana's stepson, Jaime, believed Antonia was only interested in Diana's wealth.
But when Jaime reversed his view, Antonia's uneasiness increased. How could his passionate hatred have changed so fast to passionate love?
Until her adoptive mother died suddenly, Antonia Grant hadn't known that her natural mother had kept a distant watch over her. So it was disconcerting to meet her for the first time.
Antonia loved Diana immediately, and the beauty of her Brazilian home helped to assuage Antonia's grief. Just one thing was wrong. Diana's stepson, Jaime, believed Antonia was only interested in Diana's wealth.
But when Jaime reversed his view, Antonia's uneasiness increased. How could his passionate hatred have changed so fast to passionate love?
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
2 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Catherine George
444 books73 followersDeirdre Matthews was born in a village on the Welsh-English border, where the public library featured largely in her life. Her mother, who looked upon literature as a basic necessity of life, fervently encouraged her passion for reading, little knowing it would one day motivate her daughter into writing her first novel.
At 18, she met a future Engineer, who had set in a pendant a gold sovereign, that his grandmother put in his hand when he was born, and she have never taken off since. After their marriage he swept her off to Brazil, where he worked as Chief Engineer of a large gold-mining operation in the mountains of Minas Gerais, a setting which later provided a very popular background for several of her early novels. Nine happy years passed there before the question of their small son's education decided their return to Britain. Not long afterward a daughter was born, and for a time she lived a fulfilled life as a wife and mother who always made time to read, especially in the bath!
Her husband's job took him abroad again, to Portugal, West Africa, and various countries of the Middle East, but this time she stayed home with the family. And spent a lot of lonely evenings in between the reunions when her husband came home on leave. "Instead of reading other people's novels all the time," he suggested one day, "why not have a shot at writing one yourself?" So she did.
But first she took a creative writing course. Encouraged by the other students' enthusiasm for her contributions, she decided to try her hand at romance, and read countless Mills & Boon novels as research before writing one herself. Her first novel was accepted in 1982 as Catherine George, which Romantic Times voted best of its genre for that year, along with more than sixty written since.
These days son and daughter have fled the nest, but they return with loving regularity to where she and her husband back for good from his travels live, with Prince, the most recent Labrador, in a house built at the end of Victoria's reign in four acres of garden on the cliffs between the beautiful Wye Valley and the River Severn.
At 18, she met a future Engineer, who had set in a pendant a gold sovereign, that his grandmother put in his hand when he was born, and she have never taken off since. After their marriage he swept her off to Brazil, where he worked as Chief Engineer of a large gold-mining operation in the mountains of Minas Gerais, a setting which later provided a very popular background for several of her early novels. Nine happy years passed there before the question of their small son's education decided their return to Britain. Not long afterward a daughter was born, and for a time she lived a fulfilled life as a wife and mother who always made time to read, especially in the bath!
Her husband's job took him abroad again, to Portugal, West Africa, and various countries of the Middle East, but this time she stayed home with the family. And spent a lot of lonely evenings in between the reunions when her husband came home on leave. "Instead of reading other people's novels all the time," he suggested one day, "why not have a shot at writing one yourself?" So she did.
But first she took a creative writing course. Encouraged by the other students' enthusiasm for her contributions, she decided to try her hand at romance, and read countless Mills & Boon novels as research before writing one herself. Her first novel was accepted in 1982 as Catherine George, which Romantic Times voted best of its genre for that year, along with more than sixty written since.
These days son and daughter have fled the nest, but they return with loving regularity to where she and her husband back for good from his travels live, with Prince, the most recent Labrador, in a house built at the end of Victoria's reign in four acres of garden on the cliffs between the beautiful Wye Valley and the River Severn.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 14, 2021
The saccharine sweetness of the story was a little overwhelming and the angst kept at a low simmer.
The hero starts off as an arrogant, aggressive asshat who hurls the typical HPlandia insults to the heroine accusing her of being a scheming, mercenary gold-digger and slut to boot based on absolutely no rationale or evidence. It takes him about a split second to realize his error and then I lost track of the number of his humble apologies and loving kisses.
The heroine was pretty great: Not a wallflower or pity-party girl. She handles the shocking news that she is adopted and her bio mom wants to meet her with stride. Yes, she is of course a bit nervous, a little saddened, somewhat cautious. But she accepts things calmly, allows a relationship to develop between herself and her newfound family, without ever feeling that they owe her something or letting bitterness and resentment poison her. The fact that she had very loving adoptive parents, a great childhood, a fantastic education (paid for anonymously by bio mom) and she is just a happy, positive person by nature, all contributed to making her a likable character without making her too Mary-Sue-ish.
The 80s vibe was also a big bonus for this old skool reader. The heroine and hero go to the movies to see the latest Meryl Streep movie (granted Meryl is still going strong in 2017!), she compares her tennis skills to Martina Navratilova, and one of the outfits she wears, a pair of yellow jeans, white tank top, and a yellow cardigan with white polka dots on top to complete the outfit may as well have been borrowed from Tootie, Blair and the rest of the gang from the Facts of Life.
The story takes place in Brazil, which seems to be a favorite haunt of the author. There is a cameo from a couple who has already inhabited two of the author's previous Brazilian romances, Devil Within and Gilded Cage. Overall, I liked this book but it was just a little too low on the angst for me, almost insta-love.
The hero starts off as an arrogant, aggressive asshat who hurls the typical HPlandia insults to the heroine accusing her of being a scheming, mercenary gold-digger and slut to boot based on absolutely no rationale or evidence. It takes him about a split second to realize his error and then I lost track of the number of his humble apologies and loving kisses.
The heroine was pretty great: Not a wallflower or pity-party girl. She handles the shocking news that she is adopted and her bio mom wants to meet her with stride. Yes, she is of course a bit nervous, a little saddened, somewhat cautious. But she accepts things calmly, allows a relationship to develop between herself and her newfound family, without ever feeling that they owe her something or letting bitterness and resentment poison her. The fact that she had very loving adoptive parents, a great childhood, a fantastic education (paid for anonymously by bio mom) and she is just a happy, positive person by nature, all contributed to making her a likable character without making her too Mary-Sue-ish.
The 80s vibe was also a big bonus for this old skool reader. The heroine and hero go to the movies to see the latest Meryl Streep movie (granted Meryl is still going strong in 2017!), she compares her tennis skills to Martina Navratilova, and one of the outfits she wears, a pair of yellow jeans, white tank top, and a yellow cardigan with white polka dots on top to complete the outfit may as well have been borrowed from Tootie, Blair and the rest of the gang from the Facts of Life.
The story takes place in Brazil, which seems to be a favorite haunt of the author. There is a cameo from a couple who has already inhabited two of the author's previous Brazilian romances, Devil Within and Gilded Cage. Overall, I liked this book but it was just a little too low on the angst for me, almost insta-love.
December 14, 2019
He thought she was just a gold digger!
Until her adoptive mother died suddenly, Antonia Grant hadn't known that her natural mother had kept a distant watch over her. So it was disconcerting to meet her for the first time.
Antonia loved Diana immediately, and the beauty of her Brazilian home helped to assuage Antonia's grief. Just one thing was wrong. Diana's stepson, Jaime, believed Antonia was only interested in Diana's wealth.
But when Jaime reversed his view, Antonia's uneasiness increased. How could his passionate hatred have changed so fast to passionate love? (l
Until her adoptive mother died suddenly, Antonia Grant hadn't known that her natural mother had kept a distant watch over her. So it was disconcerting to meet her for the first time.
Antonia loved Diana immediately, and the beauty of her Brazilian home helped to assuage Antonia's grief. Just one thing was wrong. Diana's stepson, Jaime, believed Antonia was only interested in Diana's wealth.
But when Jaime reversed his view, Antonia's uneasiness increased. How could his passionate hatred have changed so fast to passionate love? (l
October 26, 2023
You have to laugh at that cover, with her sat meekly, ignoring a plateful of sticky buns (abstemious HP h stylee) and him towering there in boots, looking ready to have at her with a riding crop! Alas, this scene isn't really in the book, although he does approach the verandah in his riding gear. He is Jaime, who with his handsome younger brother Mario is stepson to Antonia's natural mother now a Brazilian resident and widow. While her daughter's adoptive parents were alive, Diana kept out of the picture other than sending money and keeping tabs but now they are dead, she has revealed herself and Antonia is on a visit. Never been to Brazil but would like to and the scenery is certainly nicely done. This is pretty low angst and relies on a ridiculous black moment that leads me to believe she will have her work cut out in years to come. Nutter.
March 5, 2013
I found this novel really amusing and passionate. We had spanish and brazillian decent males. It was so yummy. I was getting excited hah. Well written and very enjoyable.
September 9, 2016
It would have been a fabulous book except for the heroine who acted totally out of character in the end. Hated the total change in character.
October 2, 2025
2.5 rounded up because of the Noah's Ark ending (all the couples -in pairs of two - were getting married)
I just found the H/h very boring to read about. Her mother's story was much more compelling. The Brazilian setting was okay, but it didn't add much to the story.
See other reviews for a more positive view.
I just found the H/h very boring to read about. Her mother's story was much more compelling. The Brazilian setting was okay, but it didn't add much to the story.
See other reviews for a more positive view.
April 15, 2018
Historias viejas, historias nuevas que se mezclan en la vida de los protagonistas haciendo de esta una novela fácil de leer y atrapante. 3 de 3 historias con final feliz
January 4, 2020
3.5 stars
May 6, 2025
I loved this book! An classic HP, fun and entertaining read.
January 26, 2024
Can't move to the next page please help
December 13, 2020
Unique unusual romantic storyline.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews