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An Undefended City
Olivia's money was her only attraction
Or so she felt. Delicate and timid, she hadn't argued when her inheritance was put in trust with her Mexican uncle, Octavio,
Visiting Mexico, Olivia met Luis, her uncle's business partner-a man unlike anyone she had ever encountered. He encouraged adventure and taught her love as well as courage.
But when he offered marriage, Olivia wondered whether his motives were any different from those of her money-hungry uncle!
Or so she felt. Delicate and timid, she hadn't argued when her inheritance was put in trust with her Mexican uncle, Octavio,
Visiting Mexico, Olivia met Luis, her uncle's business partner-a man unlike anyone she had ever encountered. He encouraged adventure and taught her love as well as courage.
But when he offered marriage, Olivia wondered whether his motives were any different from those of her money-hungry uncle!
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
12 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Weston
182 books43 followersJenny Haddon was born in London, England, where she always returns after the travels that she loves. When she was small, her mother couldn't bear reading aloud, so her mother taught her to read at an appallingly precocious age. She wrote her first book with her own illustrations at the age of four but was in her 20s before she produced her first romance as Sophie Weston.
She studied English Language and Literature at university. Choosing a career was a major problem. It was not so much that she didn't know what she wanted to do, as that she wanted to do everything. So she filed and photocopied and experimented. She worked as consultant at the Bank of England and all the time she drew on her experiences to create her Mills & Boon books. She edited press releases for a Latin American embassy in London (The Latin Afffair); lectured in the Arabian Gulf (The Sheikh's Bride); waitressed in Paris (Midnight Wedding); and made herself hated by getting under people's feet asking stupid questions under the grand title of consultant all over the world (The Millionaire's Daughter). She also is an active member of the UK's Romantic Novelists' Association's Committee, and was its twenty-three Chairman (2005-2007).
Jenny has one house, three cats, and about a million books. She writes compulsively, Scottish dances poorly, grows more plants than she has room for, and makes a mean meringue.
She studied English Language and Literature at university. Choosing a career was a major problem. It was not so much that she didn't know what she wanted to do, as that she wanted to do everything. So she filed and photocopied and experimented. She worked as consultant at the Bank of England and all the time she drew on her experiences to create her Mills & Boon books. She edited press releases for a Latin American embassy in London (The Latin Afffair); lectured in the Arabian Gulf (The Sheikh's Bride); waitressed in Paris (Midnight Wedding); and made herself hated by getting under people's feet asking stupid questions under the grand title of consultant all over the world (The Millionaire's Daughter). She also is an active member of the UK's Romantic Novelists' Association's Committee, and was its twenty-three Chairman (2005-2007).
Jenny has one house, three cats, and about a million books. She writes compulsively, Scottish dances poorly, grows more plants than she has room for, and makes a mean meringue.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 5, 2021
I wish they would go back to the practice of evocative titles that actually jog your memory of the story inside. In this case, the Undefended City is Mexico City and how the Spaniards conquered them. (They were thought to be Gods because some of them were blond with light eyes, so defenses were down).
The same thing happened to the hero – he thought he had the upper hand (English heroine was naïve), but he found himself in love with her by the end.
Orphaned heroine is a wealthy heiress. Her overbearing paternal aunt takes care of her by harping on her physical, emotional and mental fragility. Heroine has a heart condition of some sort, but her main problem is that she has been meekly obedient her whole life in the hope that someone – anyone – will care about her.
They have traveled to Mexico City to visit her maternal uncle and perhaps be betrothed to her cousin to keep all of that nice money in the family. Hero is an employee of the uncle’s. He is an engineer and has been responsible for the uncle’s financial success for several years. He sees how a marriage to heroine could be advantageous, but this reader never really thought his heart was in the golddigging. He seemed to feel sorry for the heroine at first and then intrigued.
Heroine has no idea of these machinations, so she is shocked when she overhears her aunt telling the hero of her uncle’s plans to marry her off to the cousin. She heads to the bus station and takes the first bus that is leaving – unfortunately it’s a ten hour ride to an interior city. Fortunately, the hero is following in his car and the city is where his godmother lives so she can offer heroine a bed for the night and lots of gossip and backstory about the hero.
Hero proposes and heroine accepts. They helicopter to the uncle’s country estate and there everyone tries to talk her out of marrying the hero. This is where the heroine stops being a doormat and starts to exhibit her personality.
Hero still has to work, so they do not spend much time together before or after their wedding. Hero becomes jealous and petulant and heroine is set to leave him until a work place accident sends her to his side. HEA
The romance isn’t all that convincing but there is a full complement of characters who are fascinating as well as the lovely Mexican setting. This is vintage goodness, but if you don’t have patience for meek heroines, you’ll be frustrated by this one.
The same thing happened to the hero – he thought he had the upper hand (English heroine was naïve), but he found himself in love with her by the end.
Orphaned heroine is a wealthy heiress. Her overbearing paternal aunt takes care of her by harping on her physical, emotional and mental fragility. Heroine has a heart condition of some sort, but her main problem is that she has been meekly obedient her whole life in the hope that someone – anyone – will care about her.
They have traveled to Mexico City to visit her maternal uncle and perhaps be betrothed to her cousin to keep all of that nice money in the family. Hero is an employee of the uncle’s. He is an engineer and has been responsible for the uncle’s financial success for several years. He sees how a marriage to heroine could be advantageous, but this reader never really thought his heart was in the golddigging. He seemed to feel sorry for the heroine at first and then intrigued.
Heroine has no idea of these machinations, so she is shocked when she overhears her aunt telling the hero of her uncle’s plans to marry her off to the cousin. She heads to the bus station and takes the first bus that is leaving – unfortunately it’s a ten hour ride to an interior city. Fortunately, the hero is following in his car and the city is where his godmother lives so she can offer heroine a bed for the night and lots of gossip and backstory about the hero.
Hero proposes and heroine accepts. They helicopter to the uncle’s country estate and there everyone tries to talk her out of marrying the hero. This is where the heroine stops being a doormat and starts to exhibit her personality.
Hero still has to work, so they do not spend much time together before or after their wedding. Hero becomes jealous and petulant and heroine is set to leave him until a work place accident sends her to his side. HEA
The romance isn’t all that convincing but there is a full complement of characters who are fascinating as well as the lovely Mexican setting. This is vintage goodness, but if you don’t have patience for meek heroines, you’ll be frustrated by this one.
August 29, 2012
Not too shabby. I actually didn't mind it at all. At first the heroine annoyed me, how easily she was pushed. She seemed of weak will and mind but as she grew, I grew to like her. The hero was pretty common, had the same attitude of others. The ending of the novel drove me mad, it was an instant cut off.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews