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Chains of Gold
Six years hadn't changed anything
Susan had no desire to see Greg Delaney again. The passionate union that had claimed both of them during their wild, rebellious days had ended, and the man she had fallen in love with had become a stranger.
"I don't believe in picking up the threads of the past, "she told him when, six years later, his job brought him back within her world.
Even though she still loved him, stubborn pride sent her seeking protection in the arms of another man.
Susan had no desire to see Greg Delaney again. The passionate union that had claimed both of them during their wild, rebellious days had ended, and the man she had fallen in love with had become a stranger.
"I don't believe in picking up the threads of the past, "she told him when, six years later, his job brought him back within her world.
Even though she still loved him, stubborn pride sent her seeking protection in the arms of another man.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Yvonne Whittal
56 books81 followersYvonne Whittal was born and raised in South Africa, the setting of most of her romances. She started writing stories at a young age, but didn't really get serious about writing until after she married and had children. She got many rejection letters from publishers, until a friend who loved romances gave her to encouragement to continue.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 12, 2025
YW usually writes dim-witted but kind Mary Sues heroines and pairs them up with psycho men. Here, she made her h a Basic Bitch, a surprising move on her part.
Our h is a spoiled, entitled, poor-little-rich-girl who, at eighteen, married a long-haired, motorcycle-riding bad boy just to annoy her bourgeois parents.
However, when her husband's older brother died in a mine explosion though, it caused the H to re-evaluate his priorities. He slowly shed his Born To Be Wild persona in order to take some responsibilities for his life and his grieving family. He went back to his studies, started working towards a career as a geologist, and got rid of his motorcycle and his long hair.
h was horrified at his transformation into a Stepford husband. She had not signed up for this! So she divorced him and he left town.
Five years later, h still lives with her parents. She has remained stubbornly stagnant in her outlook, still heaping scorn on her bourgeois parents and their conservative lifestyle, while enjoying all the privileges of life as a spoiled, wealthy man's daughter.
She is incensed when H moves back into town to take up a position at the mine managed by her father. She reacts really rudely to his tentative efforts to befriend her again. It is only after he takes up a dangerous mission inside the same mine that killed his brother that she realizes she still loves him.
She makes tentative steps towards repairing their relationship but now, it is H's turn to now act like a Big, Fat, Jerk. Eventually, they spend one night together and the morning after, he takes his revenge on her by coldly kicking her out of his apartment like a dirty ONS that he never wants to see again.
Naturally, the h immediately retaliates by getting engaged to the limp noodle OM who has been desperately hanging around, lapping up the crumbs of her attention.
The H is crushed. He gets the h alone and actually apologizes for his crude behavior then tries to persuade her not to marry the OM despite making it clear that he, the H, is not interested in remarrying the h. Shortly after, a sexy, man-eating OW pays a visit to the h in order to flash her engagement ring, implying that she is soon to become H's wife number two.
Another crisis at the mine eventually brings the h and H back together. They confess their love, apologize for all their bad behavior in the past, and duly get rid of their respective OM/OW.
Imho, YW should have left it at that but she decided to add in a Fourth Act, creating a last minute conflict between h and H by having H confess that they need not marry again as they never divorced in the first place. Apparently, H and h's father entered into a patriarchal conspiracy to fool the h, until she would "come to her senses" about divorcing the H.
I would have had more sympathy for the h for being manipulated and patronized this way except that she kind of really was that airhead, spineless, spoiled girl the H and her own dad take her for. She ends the story with apologizing to her dad and her husband and agreeing that they did what was best for her. So we have come full circle from rebel without a cause to the Stepford Wife that she had always promised herself never to become. Oh well…
Our h is a spoiled, entitled, poor-little-rich-girl who, at eighteen, married a long-haired, motorcycle-riding bad boy just to annoy her bourgeois parents.
However, when her husband's older brother died in a mine explosion though, it caused the H to re-evaluate his priorities. He slowly shed his Born To Be Wild persona in order to take some responsibilities for his life and his grieving family. He went back to his studies, started working towards a career as a geologist, and got rid of his motorcycle and his long hair.
h was horrified at his transformation into a Stepford husband. She had not signed up for this! So she divorced him and he left town.
Five years later, h still lives with her parents. She has remained stubbornly stagnant in her outlook, still heaping scorn on her bourgeois parents and their conservative lifestyle, while enjoying all the privileges of life as a spoiled, wealthy man's daughter.
She is incensed when H moves back into town to take up a position at the mine managed by her father. She reacts really rudely to his tentative efforts to befriend her again. It is only after he takes up a dangerous mission inside the same mine that killed his brother that she realizes she still loves him.
She makes tentative steps towards repairing their relationship but now, it is H's turn to now act like a Big, Fat, Jerk. Eventually, they spend one night together and the morning after, he takes his revenge on her by coldly kicking her out of his apartment like a dirty ONS that he never wants to see again.
Naturally, the h immediately retaliates by getting engaged to the limp noodle OM who has been desperately hanging around, lapping up the crumbs of her attention.
The H is crushed. He gets the h alone and actually apologizes for his crude behavior then tries to persuade her not to marry the OM despite making it clear that he, the H, is not interested in remarrying the h. Shortly after, a sexy, man-eating OW pays a visit to the h in order to flash her engagement ring, implying that she is soon to become H's wife number two.
Another crisis at the mine eventually brings the h and H back together. They confess their love, apologize for all their bad behavior in the past, and duly get rid of their respective OM/OW.
Imho, YW should have left it at that but she decided to add in a Fourth Act, creating a last minute conflict between h and H by having H confess that they need not marry again as they never divorced in the first place. Apparently, H and h's father entered into a patriarchal conspiracy to fool the h, until she would "come to her senses" about divorcing the H.
I would have had more sympathy for the h for being manipulated and patronized this way except that she kind of really was that airhead, spineless, spoiled girl the H and her own dad take her for. She ends the story with apologizing to her dad and her husband and agreeing that they did what was best for her. So we have come full circle from rebel without a cause to the Stepford Wife that she had always promised herself never to become. Oh well…
August 12, 2017
Second chance story with a (surprisingly for YW) bitchy immature heroine and a geologist hero. The heroine in this one is not very likable - so fair warning. I do have a secret fascination with bitchy heroines and I never knew where this story was going, so I found I couldn't put it down. Thus the four stars for the unique reading experience - not particularly for the romance.
So, backstory first:
The H/h met when her father moved his family from the big city to a gold mine in an area called Western Ridges. The 18 year-old heroine resented the social obligations and restrictions put on her as the manager's daughter. So she fell in love with the bad boy, motorcycle driving, long-haired hero who worked as a lab assistant at the mine. An added bonus was that her parents didn't like him and this was her form of rebellion against them.
The H/h married because the heroine was a virgin and wouldn't have sex without marriage. That's what the bad boy told her in their subsequent rows. She told him she only married him to get back at her parents. Neither one of them expressed their love except through sex. When the hero's brother was killed in a mining accident, he decided to stop rebelling against his parents and the system. He cut his hair, sold his bike and went back to university. Heroine hated this change in him and asked for a divorce.
The story opens six years later. The heroine is living with her parents at the mine because her apartment building was sold and she hasn't found a new flat in the city yet. She commutes to the city doing something vague with computers. She has boyfriend whom she doesn't sleep with. He is a newspaper reporter and he keeps asking her to marry him. They have been dating for two years and she still won't give him an answer. She knows he seeks physical relief elsewhere and it doesn't bother her.
The heroine is ridiculously immature - we first see this in how she views and treats her parents. She mocks them to their faces for keeping up the old social traditions at the mine. She can't see that her father takes his responsibilities for the his worker's welfare seriously. She just thinks they're both conformist sheep or something.
However, karma, in form of her ex-husband eventually shows up. He now has a Phd in geology and the mine has hired him to evaluate the area that collapsed and killed his brother. The heroine is not happy to see her ex, but surprisingly, her parents are.
Now begins the push-pull. The hero obviously wants to get back together (it was obvious to me, at least) and her parents are helping him. However, the heroine is so bitchy to the hero that he's finding it slow going. They fight, they mock, they arm themselves with their respective OMs and OWs. (The H's OW is not at all convincing, btw. )
The heroine eventually begins to look at herself and her parents and her part in the divorce with new eyes. It's a very gradual process that is fascinating to watch. Because of this newfound jealousy, the heroine eventually realizes she's wasted six years of her life, she can't marry the OM and she needs to clear the air with the H. She goes to his apartment, they have sex, and then he kicks her out.
Heroine is humiliated, but she isn't ready to give up until the OW shows her an engagement ring and says she's going to marry the H. Instead of talking to the H, heroine changes her mind and becomes engaged to the OM. Her parents are concerned and beg her to not marry too soon. The hero thinks she's spiting him because of their ONS that ended so badly.
There is an accident at the mine and the hero has to go help and the heroine realizes she loves him. There is a lot of tension and the heroine grows up a bit as she waits for the word of the missing miners. When the hero returns the h tells him she was wrong - they never should have gotten divorced. The hero declares his love. OW was lying. He's only taken a few ladies out when he needed an escort - he's been faithful to the heroine. OM shows up for the heroine to break their engagement.
The next day the heroine wonders if she dreamed it all. H reassures her he still loves her. Heroine wants to know if they will live together or get married again. And then the other shoe drops. Seems the divorce never went through. The hero didn't want a divorce and her father lied to her and said the papers had been filed.
Heroine has yet another epic tantrum, and it takes the last chapter for her to cool down and go back to the hero after listening to her father's excuses. HEA
The heroine grows up quite a bit in the story, but not all the way, I'm afraid. I don't see this H/h as having an easy relationship - but they stayed faithful to each other six years - so I don't see them ever breaking up again. I just think they'll have lots of fights and lots of make-up sex. Not my idea of an HEA - but they seem happy with the arrangement.
So, backstory first:
The H/h met when her father moved his family from the big city to a gold mine in an area called Western Ridges. The 18 year-old heroine resented the social obligations and restrictions put on her as the manager's daughter. So she fell in love with the bad boy, motorcycle driving, long-haired hero who worked as a lab assistant at the mine. An added bonus was that her parents didn't like him and this was her form of rebellion against them.
The H/h married because the heroine was a virgin and wouldn't have sex without marriage. That's what the bad boy told her in their subsequent rows. She told him she only married him to get back at her parents. Neither one of them expressed their love except through sex. When the hero's brother was killed in a mining accident, he decided to stop rebelling against his parents and the system. He cut his hair, sold his bike and went back to university. Heroine hated this change in him and asked for a divorce.
The story opens six years later. The heroine is living with her parents at the mine because her apartment building was sold and she hasn't found a new flat in the city yet. She commutes to the city doing something vague with computers. She has boyfriend whom she doesn't sleep with. He is a newspaper reporter and he keeps asking her to marry him. They have been dating for two years and she still won't give him an answer. She knows he seeks physical relief elsewhere and it doesn't bother her.
The heroine is ridiculously immature - we first see this in how she views and treats her parents. She mocks them to their faces for keeping up the old social traditions at the mine. She can't see that her father takes his responsibilities for the his worker's welfare seriously. She just thinks they're both conformist sheep or something.
However, karma, in form of her ex-husband eventually shows up. He now has a Phd in geology and the mine has hired him to evaluate the area that collapsed and killed his brother. The heroine is not happy to see her ex, but surprisingly, her parents are.
Now begins the push-pull. The hero obviously wants to get back together (it was obvious to me, at least) and her parents are helping him. However, the heroine is so bitchy to the hero that he's finding it slow going. They fight, they mock, they arm themselves with their respective OMs and OWs. (The H's OW is not at all convincing, btw. )
The heroine eventually begins to look at herself and her parents and her part in the divorce with new eyes. It's a very gradual process that is fascinating to watch. Because of this newfound jealousy, the heroine eventually realizes she's wasted six years of her life, she can't marry the OM and she needs to clear the air with the H. She goes to his apartment, they have sex, and then he kicks her out.
Heroine is humiliated, but she isn't ready to give up until the OW shows her an engagement ring and says she's going to marry the H. Instead of talking to the H, heroine changes her mind and becomes engaged to the OM. Her parents are concerned and beg her to not marry too soon. The hero thinks she's spiting him because of their ONS that ended so badly.
There is an accident at the mine and the hero has to go help and the heroine realizes she loves him. There is a lot of tension and the heroine grows up a bit as she waits for the word of the missing miners. When the hero returns the h tells him she was wrong - they never should have gotten divorced. The hero declares his love. OW was lying. He's only taken a few ladies out when he needed an escort - he's been faithful to the heroine. OM shows up for the heroine to break their engagement.
The next day the heroine wonders if she dreamed it all. H reassures her he still loves her. Heroine wants to know if they will live together or get married again. And then the other shoe drops. Seems the divorce never went through. The hero didn't want a divorce and her father lied to her and said the papers had been filed.
Heroine has yet another epic tantrum, and it takes the last chapter for her to cool down and go back to the hero after listening to her father's excuses. HEA
The heroine grows up quite a bit in the story, but not all the way, I'm afraid. I don't see this H/h as having an easy relationship - but they stayed faithful to each other six years - so I don't see them ever breaking up again. I just think they'll have lots of fights and lots of make-up sex. Not my idea of an HEA - but they seem happy with the arrangement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2021
Meh.
The writing style is not excellent.
Too many repetitions, the language is very poor, how many times I’ve read the word “mockery” or “mocking”, sometimes even in the same page.
No, really.
The heroine is awful.
She married the hero when she was 18 and he was a biker but after one year he changed and became more serious and wanted to complete his studies, after his brother died in a mining accident.
So she left him.
Wtf???
This was gross. The man was guilty of growing up and leaving his rebellious ways behind as should do every person in the world who is not ridden with severe issues, and she couldn’t stay with him because he was not that renegade anymore?
Because he was not useful as a weapon against her (rich) parents???
The poor lil rich girl.
I can understand her immaturity when she was 18, but when they met again she was 25 and she was as silly and as juvenile as when she was a teenager.
All the book she did nothing but send him away, rejecting him and verbally abusing him.
He only wanted to give her time to grow up but actually I don’t think she changed at all.
This time I don’t know how the hero could love a woman like that. And until the end she was a stupid bitch!
She didn’t even have a nasty family because her father and her mother were two wonderful people.
She was too spoiled.
The hero was not a champion himself but he tried to communicate at least, but most of the times he went against a wall of stubbornness.
I don’t think those two could have a hea.
There are a om and a ow, but it seems both were celibate during their separation.
I wouldn’t have blamed the hero is he had ow, the heroine left him when he most needed her and was a nasty person but apparently he only dated women but was never intimate with them because still in love with her.
Good guy, he deserved more.
The writing style is not excellent.
Too many repetitions, the language is very poor, how many times I’ve read the word “mockery” or “mocking”, sometimes even in the same page.
No, really.
The heroine is awful.
She married the hero when she was 18 and he was a biker but after one year he changed and became more serious and wanted to complete his studies, after his brother died in a mining accident.
So she left him.
Wtf???
This was gross. The man was guilty of growing up and leaving his rebellious ways behind as should do every person in the world who is not ridden with severe issues, and she couldn’t stay with him because he was not that renegade anymore?
Because he was not useful as a weapon against her (rich) parents???
The poor lil rich girl.
I can understand her immaturity when she was 18, but when they met again she was 25 and she was as silly and as juvenile as when she was a teenager.
All the book she did nothing but send him away, rejecting him and verbally abusing him.
He only wanted to give her time to grow up but actually I don’t think she changed at all.
This time I don’t know how the hero could love a woman like that. And until the end she was a stupid bitch!
She didn’t even have a nasty family because her father and her mother were two wonderful people.
She was too spoiled.
The hero was not a champion himself but he tried to communicate at least, but most of the times he went against a wall of stubbornness.
I don’t think those two could have a hea.
There are a om and a ow, but it seems both were celibate during their separation.
I wouldn’t have blamed the hero is he had ow, the heroine left him when he most needed her and was a nasty person but apparently he only dated women but was never intimate with them because still in love with her.
Good guy, he deserved more.
July 31, 2014
Susan married Greg as a rebellion against her parents. Their marriage broke down but now six years later Greg is back in her life just when she is about to marry another man.
Lots of angst and a devilish wicked hero make this a very entertaining read. I felt bad for Greg and for heroine's new fiancé cause she didn't deserve them. She was super childish and immature!
Lots of angst and a devilish wicked hero make this a very entertaining read. I felt bad for Greg and for heroine's new fiancé cause she didn't deserve them. She was super childish and immature!
October 28, 2021
Six years hadn't changed anything
Susan had no desire to see Greg Delaney again. The passionate union that had claimed both of them during their wild, rebellious days had ended, and the man she had fallen in love with had become a stranger.
"I don't believe in picking up the threads of the past, "she told him when, six years later, his job brought him back within her world.
Even though she still loved him, stubborn pride sent her seeking protection in the arms of another man
Susan had no desire to see Greg Delaney again. The passionate union that had claimed both of them during their wild, rebellious days had ended, and the man she had fallen in love with had become a stranger.
"I don't believe in picking up the threads of the past, "she told him when, six years later, his job brought him back within her world.
Even though she still loved him, stubborn pride sent her seeking protection in the arms of another man
November 6, 2021
This went from a 3 to a 2 star in the last 20% of the book. Very disappointing and convoluted breakup!
December 11, 2024
This was okay. Very typical of a book written in the 70’s.
I found the FMC a bit spoiled and the MMC arrogant but that is the norm for these types of HQN books.
I found the FMC a bit spoiled and the MMC arrogant but that is the norm for these types of HQN books.
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July 21, 2025Super immature heroine spoiled the book for me.
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