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Sugar Cane Harvest
Tessa Wright's carefree existence in her Caribbean home was threatened by the news that Bryn Marshall was coming back.
Their relationship had always been uneasy, and she had little hope that it might change. For he seemed no more interested in her now than he had been all those years ago.
Their relationship had always been uneasy, and she had little hope that it might change. For he seemed no more interested in her now than he had been all those years ago.
- GenresHarlequin Romance
Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Kay Thorpe
185 books65 followersKay Thorpe was born on 1935 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. An avid reader from the time when words on paper began to make sense, she developed a lively imagination of her own, making up stories for the entertainment of her young friends. After leaving school, she tried a variety of jobs, including dental nursing, and a spell in the Women's Royal Airforce from which she emerged knowing a whole lot more about life - if only as an observer.
In 1960, she married with Tony, but didn't begin thinking about trying her hand at writing for a living until she gave up work some four years later to have a baby, John. Having read Mills & Boon novels herself, and done some market research in the local library asking readers what it was they particularly liked about the books, she decided to aim for a particular market, and was fortunate to have her very first, completed manuscript accepted - The Last of the Mallorys, published in 1968. Since then she has written over seventy five books, which doesn't begin to compare with the output of some Mills & Boon authors, but still leaves her wondering where all those words came from.
Sometimes, she finds she has become two different people: the writer at her happiest when involved in the world of books and authors; and the housewife, turning her hands to the everyday needs of husband and son. Once in a while, she finds it difficult to step from one role to the other. She likes cooking, for instance, but she finds that it can be an irritating interruption when she's preoccupied with work on a novel, so the quality of her efforts in the kitchen tend to be a little erratic. She says, "As my husband once remarked, my writing gives life a fascinating element of uncertainly: one day a perfect coq au vin, the next day a couple of burned chops!"
Luckily Kay has daily professional help with her housework, and that leaves her time to indulge in her hobbies. Like many other Mills & Boon authors, she admits to being a voracious consumer of books, a quality she shares with her readers. She likes music and horseback riding, which she does in the countryside near her home. But her favorite hobby is travel - especially to places that will make good settings for her books.
Kay now lives on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, along with husband, Tony, and a huge tabby cat called Mad Max, her one son having flown the coop. Some day she'll think about retiring, but not yet awhile.
In 1960, she married with Tony, but didn't begin thinking about trying her hand at writing for a living until she gave up work some four years later to have a baby, John. Having read Mills & Boon novels herself, and done some market research in the local library asking readers what it was they particularly liked about the books, she decided to aim for a particular market, and was fortunate to have her very first, completed manuscript accepted - The Last of the Mallorys, published in 1968. Since then she has written over seventy five books, which doesn't begin to compare with the output of some Mills & Boon authors, but still leaves her wondering where all those words came from.
Sometimes, she finds she has become two different people: the writer at her happiest when involved in the world of books and authors; and the housewife, turning her hands to the everyday needs of husband and son. Once in a while, she finds it difficult to step from one role to the other. She likes cooking, for instance, but she finds that it can be an irritating interruption when she's preoccupied with work on a novel, so the quality of her efforts in the kitchen tend to be a little erratic. She says, "As my husband once remarked, my writing gives life a fascinating element of uncertainly: one day a perfect coq au vin, the next day a couple of burned chops!"
Luckily Kay has daily professional help with her housework, and that leaves her time to indulge in her hobbies. Like many other Mills & Boon authors, she admits to being a voracious consumer of books, a quality she shares with her readers. She likes music and horseback riding, which she does in the countryside near her home. But her favorite hobby is travel - especially to places that will make good settings for her books.
Kay now lives on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, along with husband, Tony, and a huge tabby cat called Mad Max, her one son having flown the coop. Some day she'll think about retiring, but not yet awhile.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 9, 2018
Sugar cane harvest, really??? Though the action is set on Barbados, this has nothing to do with sugar cane. None of the protagonists own or work at a plantation. The OM is a hard-working exec at his family 's department store. The hero is a real estate developer who wants to buy the heroine'sad little beach hut to assimilate it into his planned vacation resort. The heroine is a good for nothing slacker who thinks money grows on (palm?) trees, she can run a household of three based on a lucrative salary for a job that is going to fall down from the moon to land in her lap, and that it is a super idea to start a conch shell collection at the bottom of the sea when there are only 8 minutes left on her oxygen tank. *face palm*
I was tempted to say that he deserved better than this spoiled brat, TSTL heroine but hero is no prize himself so maybe they deserve each other. Because when you have been in love with a nubile teenager for five years but stayed away because she was too young, what you need to do when returning to her island after five years is
a) try to forcibly buy her home to turn it into a vacation resort
b) parade around the island with an OW that you let everyone assume is your girlfriend following you from New York,
c) let the OM court and propose to your supposed love of your life
d) leave the love of your life to chauffeur the OW around and gaze lovingly into her face, but only because you are secretly happy about wooing the love of your life.
Gag me with a spoon. Despite his tardy protestations, I don't believe that he was pining away for her for a nanosecond let alone five years, and his priority was definitely the property, and the OW, not the heroine.
As I said, these two deserved each other. I, for one, would have hopped on the villain's boat and sailed into the sunset.
I was tempted to say that he deserved better than this spoiled brat, TSTL heroine but hero is no prize himself so maybe they deserve each other. Because when you have been in love with a nubile teenager for five years but stayed away because she was too young, what you need to do when returning to her island after five years is
a) try to forcibly buy her home to turn it into a vacation resort
b) parade around the island with an OW that you let everyone assume is your girlfriend following you from New York,
c) let the OM court and propose to your supposed love of your life
d) leave the love of your life to chauffeur the OW around and gaze lovingly into her face, but only because you are secretly happy about wooing the love of your life.
Gag me with a spoon. Despite his tardy protestations, I don't believe that he was pining away for her for a nanosecond let alone five years, and his priority was definitely the property, and the OW, not the heroine.
As I said, these two deserved each other. I, for one, would have hopped on the villain's boat and sailed into the sunset.
October 24, 2022
"4.5/5"
May 17, 2016
Vintage romance but good enough. Tessa is a bit of a tomboy, she had a crush on their neighbor Bryn when she was 14 but he put her down in a very discouraging way, soon after he left the island. 5 years have passed and Bryn is back, he is the new owner of the big house next to Tessa's which he wants to turn into a resort and he wants to buy Tessa's family home to expand the grounds. Tessa hates him for this, and speaks to him rudely whenever they encounter each other. Tessa's mother is a widow and has just been proposed to by a wealthy man, so there is no urgency to sell the family home anymore. Bryn even suggests that Tessa could marry a man who could buy the family home for her. Coincidentally the son of her soon to be step dad also likes Tessa so he proposes to her and says he will buy the house for her. She actually considers doing this, and when she tells Bryn he goes into a rage.
SPOILERS:
They eventually sort it out in the end but as in many vintage books it ends abruptly. Bryn was attracted to her even 5 years ago but of course since she was too young he had to put her down hard. He confesses that he came back hoping to start a relationship with her but didn't bank on the fact that she still hated him. There is a little OW action but not too significant. The heroine acts so immaturely but hey, she's 19.
SPOILERS:
They eventually sort it out in the end but as in many vintage books it ends abruptly. Bryn was attracted to her even 5 years ago but of course since she was too young he had to put her down hard. He confesses that he came back hoping to start a relationship with her but didn't bank on the fact that she still hated him. There is a little OW action but not too significant. The heroine acts so immaturely but hey, she's 19.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
March 24, 2021Tessa Wright's carefree existence in her Caribbean home was threatened by the news that Bryn Marshall was coming back.
Their relationship had always been uneasy, and she had little hope that it might change. For he seemed no more interested in her now than he had been all those years ago.
Their relationship had always been uneasy, and she had little hope that it might change. For he seemed no more interested in her now than he had been all those years ago.
Want to Read
May 12, 2022Una bonita historia de amor 🥰🥰
June 3, 2022
Good story with good OMen (one real and one kinda) but juvenile heroine. Luckily Kay Thorpe is an excellent writer or this would have been unreadable sludge.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews