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A Fever in the Blood
Cass fled to Italy, and to Ben.
He was the one person in the world who could help her. And help she desperately needed.
So it was a shock to find that she'd only added to her problems instead of solving them. She was a grown woman now. She had four years of marriage and a great many daunting experiences behind her. And yet the attraction between them flared up again.
It was an attraction that had to be denied at all costs - because there was just no way that Ben and Cassandra could be happy together.
He was the one person in the world who could help her. And help she desperately needed.
So it was a shock to find that she'd only added to her problems instead of solving them. She was a grown woman now. She had four years of marriage and a great many daunting experiences behind her. And yet the attraction between them flared up again.
It was an attraction that had to be denied at all costs - because there was just no way that Ben and Cassandra could be happy together.
189 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 1990
About the author
Anne Mather
814 books366 followersAnne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson, a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 2, 2017
Re A Fever In the Blood - Anne Mather is keepin' it ALL in the family here. This book would be really, srsly icky if it weren't for the fact that both the H and h are about as fierce and Alpha as a foam frog helmeted kitten going into Battle Toads. In other words, in this one, if the H and h can't win on cute they are not winning at all and they don't until the big meanies that are their divorced mother and father relent and let the poor tykes be together. Buckle up your seat belts, angst wrecki junkies - we are going to need a bigger train on this run.
The book opens with the h showing up at the H's apartment in Italy, she is running away from her lyin', cheatin' abusive hubby - who is also her Don Corleone wanna be father's right hand man. Benvenuto - which is Italian for welcome and NOT Benjamin, which is Beniamino, (a copy editor ran amok here,)- is our H, and may I add how disconcerting it is to read an H whose name sounds like a welcome mat for 185 pages. But moving on after a fortifying consult with the Captain....
So the h is at the H's apartment, she wants him to ask his mum if she can stay in the divorced from her father mum's Italian Villa that her father pays for while she figures out what to do. The H is torn, he loves the h but can't have her and even having her in the same country is tormenting him out of his oxygen deprived mind and doing terrible things to his libido.
The h is sweet but terribly dim from being dropped multiple times on her head when she was a baby. She has ALWAYS loved the H, but they got split up years earlier when a summer loving moment happened too fast and the H's Martinet mother caught them together. She insisted it was a sin cause they are BROTHER and SISTER - except the H knows that they aren't.
Martinet mommy is lying cause she married the h's dad - Don Corleone JR. when her real love died and left her preggers - MM doesn't think anybody else knows this tho, and she is afraid to lose her home and her financial support, so the h had to be sent away.
The h goes to her DC Jr. Father in the Islands. Daddy dearest is now married to the h's mother and the h gets drunk and gets naked with daddy dearest's right hand thug. They marry, but the thug has been cheating for a while now and daddy dearest has given him multiple talking to's and it just doesn't stick for longer than a month or so. The h is trying hard to be brave and gather up the courage to tell daddy dearest that continuing her marriage just isn't on. So she needs the H and his support and we get six chapters of meandering about Italy, doing some touristy things, meeting the H's Italian half of his family and unrequited angsty moist longing on the h part - the H was longing too, but he wasn't moist.
Then right hand Thug hubby shows up and is mean to the H and h, they go to the H's grandma's and finally grandma spills the beans. The H and h aren't related at all, but Martinet mummie's house and income are at risk and the H can't man up enough to talk to his supposed dad. It is bad enough that our welcome mat H did not go into the family business and went to be a Medieval historian in Florence instead, if the H and h hook up together, Martinet mummy will lose her income and SHE FORBIDS the H to be welcoming to any of that side of the family!
That doesn't stop our little cuddle bugs from having a fling by the lake tho, they lurve it up and moistness abounds. Then the h has to go home and face DC Jr. daddy. There is a nasty blackmail try by the Thug hubby that he will spill the beans about the H and h and the h kinda agrees to reconcile but needs a little time first.
Then Thug hubby's mistress shows up, she is preggers AND she isn't TH's Mistress, she is his Legal Wife and he and the H aren't married- cause thugy hubby is a bigamist and married the mistress first. Well the h runs fast to tell daddy, and DC Jr. daddy does his best Brando imitation and Thug hubby is never seen again.
DC Jr. daddy really does want his little girl to be happy tho, so he tells the h he knows that Welcome Mat isn't his, and he has been hoping all these years that the two would get together and continue his empire. But Martinet mommy has to be talked into it cause she doesn't think the h is good enough for her boy.
Eventually the h gets preggers and the wedding happens and everybody is happy and refusing family business appointments in favor of Medieval Historian professorships with stay at home mum supportive wifehood for the HEA.
This one is just one I think you have to decide for yourself. I thought it was wild, but I was pretty well inured to the basic tackiness by a huge Captain Fortification before I read. Plus I knew they weren't related, so it is fairly entertaining after you get over those big hurdles.
If you venture here, stock up on supplies, cause even knowing the twist, there is still a lot wrecki angsty moist longing to wade through before you get to the end. And don't even mention the Welcome Mat - even tho it is HPlandia and open to a great deal of leniency, there are just some things that should be copy checked.
The book opens with the h showing up at the H's apartment in Italy, she is running away from her lyin', cheatin' abusive hubby - who is also her Don Corleone wanna be father's right hand man. Benvenuto - which is Italian for welcome and NOT Benjamin, which is Beniamino, (a copy editor ran amok here,)- is our H, and may I add how disconcerting it is to read an H whose name sounds like a welcome mat for 185 pages. But moving on after a fortifying consult with the Captain....
So the h is at the H's apartment, she wants him to ask his mum if she can stay in the divorced from her father mum's Italian Villa that her father pays for while she figures out what to do. The H is torn, he loves the h but can't have her and even having her in the same country is tormenting him out of his oxygen deprived mind and doing terrible things to his libido.
The h is sweet but terribly dim from being dropped multiple times on her head when she was a baby. She has ALWAYS loved the H, but they got split up years earlier when a summer loving moment happened too fast and the H's Martinet mother caught them together. She insisted it was a sin cause they are BROTHER and SISTER - except the H knows that they aren't.
Martinet mommy is lying cause she married the h's dad - Don Corleone JR. when her real love died and left her preggers - MM doesn't think anybody else knows this tho, and she is afraid to lose her home and her financial support, so the h had to be sent away.
The h goes to her DC Jr. Father in the Islands. Daddy dearest is now married to the h's mother and the h gets drunk and gets naked with daddy dearest's right hand thug. They marry, but the thug has been cheating for a while now and daddy dearest has given him multiple talking to's and it just doesn't stick for longer than a month or so. The h is trying hard to be brave and gather up the courage to tell daddy dearest that continuing her marriage just isn't on. So she needs the H and his support and we get six chapters of meandering about Italy, doing some touristy things, meeting the H's Italian half of his family and unrequited angsty moist longing on the h part - the H was longing too, but he wasn't moist.
Then right hand Thug hubby shows up and is mean to the H and h, they go to the H's grandma's and finally grandma spills the beans. The H and h aren't related at all, but Martinet mummie's house and income are at risk and the H can't man up enough to talk to his supposed dad. It is bad enough that our welcome mat H did not go into the family business and went to be a Medieval historian in Florence instead, if the H and h hook up together, Martinet mummy will lose her income and SHE FORBIDS the H to be welcoming to any of that side of the family!
That doesn't stop our little cuddle bugs from having a fling by the lake tho, they lurve it up and moistness abounds. Then the h has to go home and face DC Jr. daddy. There is a nasty blackmail try by the Thug hubby that he will spill the beans about the H and h and the h kinda agrees to reconcile but needs a little time first.
Then Thug hubby's mistress shows up, she is preggers AND she isn't TH's Mistress, she is his Legal Wife and he and the H aren't married- cause thugy hubby is a bigamist and married the mistress first. Well the h runs fast to tell daddy, and DC Jr. daddy does his best Brando imitation and Thug hubby is never seen again.
DC Jr. daddy really does want his little girl to be happy tho, so he tells the h he knows that Welcome Mat isn't his, and he has been hoping all these years that the two would get together and continue his empire. But Martinet mommy has to be talked into it cause she doesn't think the h is good enough for her boy.
Eventually the h gets preggers and the wedding happens and everybody is happy and refusing family business appointments in favor of Medieval Historian professorships with stay at home mum supportive wifehood for the HEA.
This one is just one I think you have to decide for yourself. I thought it was wild, but I was pretty well inured to the basic tackiness by a huge Captain Fortification before I read. Plus I knew they weren't related, so it is fairly entertaining after you get over those big hurdles.
If you venture here, stock up on supplies, cause even knowing the twist, there is still a lot wrecki angsty moist longing to wade through before you get to the end. And don't even mention the Welcome Mat - even tho it is HPlandia and open to a great deal of leniency, there are just some things that should be copy checked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2017
Crap. Lost my whole review.
A Fever in the Brain would be a more appropriate title for this train wreck filled with vile, shallow and fickle characters, both minor and major.
Cass and Benvenuto are the Ken and Barbie, Toy Story 3 style, of HarleyLand.
Cass has left her Daddy approved, adulterous husband Roger for Florence and her handsome half-brother (not step-brother, but half) forWelcome Benvenuto. Cass has had a reciprocated crush on Welcome Benvenuto since they were kids. When they were teenagers they finally kissed. He pushes her away as he rightly should (half-brother). She leaves in a fit of pique and rebounds into marriage with the loathsome Roger.
Current times, she begs him to ask his mother if she can stay with her.Welcome Benvenuto's mother is Cass's father's first wife. I have a diagram. Papasito had numerous affairs and was finally strong-armed into leaving by Cass's smarter, wilier and British mother. To say that the first wife is bitter is an understatement which leaves me to question WHY would Cass want to stay with the disapproving Italian mother of your half-brother and where would Cass find the gall to ASK to stay with her. Once again, see...
Miss Sensitivity does stay andWelcome Benvenuto stays away. For a while. He admits they are not brother and sister; they have another passionate kiss. Then he says he lied; they are brother and sister.
Later she finds out that he lied AGAIN. They really aren't related, and have cosmic sex. No, she's not a virgin, but she might as well be. She is SO RELIEVED THEY CAN FINALLY BE TOGETHER...THE ANGELS WEEP AND...untilWelcome Benvenuto tells her they can never be together. Ragazzo di mamma aka mama's boy says he could never shame his mother like that i.e. revealing that his father is not is biological. Yep, true love.
She wants to die. She wants to live. He wants her to leave. He wants her to stay.
She leaves for England where her vile mother hunts her down. Cass must reconcile with Roger. There is a creepy vibe with Mumsy and Roger that makes me go hmmm, but it's probably my imagination.
Papasito who is supposedly so controlling makes an appearance finally, and is ridiculously warm and supportive for a Harlequin dad.
Cass andWelcome Benvenuto get married. Yippee. I guess. They certainly deserve each other. They'll be calling each other "Mother" and "Father" in the third person in ten years.
A Fever in the Brain would be a more appropriate title for this train wreck filled with vile, shallow and fickle characters, both minor and major.
Cass and Benvenuto are the Ken and Barbie, Toy Story 3 style, of HarleyLand.
Cass has left her Daddy approved, adulterous husband Roger for Florence and her handsome half-brother (not step-brother, but half) for
Current times, she begs him to ask his mother if she can stay with her.
Miss Sensitivity does stay and
Later she finds out that he lied AGAIN. They really aren't related, and have cosmic sex. No, she's not a virgin, but she might as well be. She is SO RELIEVED THEY CAN FINALLY BE TOGETHER...THE ANGELS WEEP AND...until
She wants to die. She wants to live. He wants her to leave. He wants her to stay.
She leaves for England where her vile mother hunts her down. Cass must reconcile with Roger. There is a creepy vibe with Mumsy and Roger that makes me go hmmm, but it's probably my imagination.
Papasito who is supposedly so controlling makes an appearance finally, and is ridiculously warm and supportive for a Harlequin dad.
Cass and
February 16, 2016
I'm giving this 5 holy crap on a cracker stars. It probably was really a one or two star read in the real world. There was a whole heaping helping of WTF in this one. I can see where this story line could work and be pretty angsty but it was dealt with very oddly here. He knew from the time he was 20 and she was 5 that they weren't siblings but she didn't and fell in love with him anyway. It was explained off as her soul must have known. Or she could just be very mixed up and need some serious help. You decide. He should have told her years ago or even at anytime before the last 20 pages of this book. Oh well. Worth the read for vintage HP fans if you like the crazy.
August 15, 2012
This was too icky for me, and I usually tolerate step-sibling romances just fine. The problem in this one was that the heroine (and I think the hero when they first got together) didn't know that they weren't actually blood brother and sister. If they thought they were real brother and sister, then romantic love between them is pretty gross -- in real life only pretty psychologically messed-up people would do that. The fact that it turned out (of course) that they weren't related by blood doesn't fix the problem that there was something wrong with a heroine who had serious romantic and sexual feelings for a man she believed to be her half-brother. I also didn't like the way the hero let his mother browbeat him -- I prefer a hero with his mother under control.
Also, I kind of couldn't get over his name. I guess Benvenuto is actually used somewhat in Italy, but I know it is also the Italian word "welcome" and I couldn't help picturing an author who wanted an Italian hero named Ben and made his name sound Italian by using Benvenuto, but really his name was the word "welcome" in Italian, not the equivalent of Benjamin. It just made me cringe when the Italian mother and grandmother were calling him "Benvenuto" over and over. I dunno, maybe Benvenuto is totally common and I was over thinking it, but it was just jarring.
Overall, this one was readable but it grossed me out a lot imagining the heroine having all these sexual thoughts toward a man she thought was her genetic brother.
Also, I kind of couldn't get over his name. I guess Benvenuto is actually used somewhat in Italy, but I know it is also the Italian word "welcome" and I couldn't help picturing an author who wanted an Italian hero named Ben and made his name sound Italian by using Benvenuto, but really his name was the word "welcome" in Italian, not the equivalent of Benjamin. It just made me cringe when the Italian mother and grandmother were calling him "Benvenuto" over and over. I dunno, maybe Benvenuto is totally common and I was over thinking it, but it was just jarring.
Overall, this one was readable but it grossed me out a lot imagining the heroine having all these sexual thoughts toward a man she thought was her genetic brother.
November 20, 2014
This book sucked
I wasn't impressed with the weak heroine or the pain in the ass hero
This isn't really a spoiler since it's obvious they aren't really half brother and sister (otherwise, ew)
But maybe, just maybe, the hero could've told the heroine he knew they weren't blood related four years ago when he knew she was in love with him
Like I said, pain in the ass hero
And any hero that would put his mama's feelings ahead of his heroine's is stupid
I wasn't impressed with the weak heroine or the pain in the ass hero
This isn't really a spoiler since it's obvious they aren't really half brother and sister (otherwise, ew)
But maybe, just maybe, the hero could've told the heroine he knew they weren't blood related four years ago when he knew she was in love with him
Like I said, pain in the ass hero
And any hero that would put his mama's feelings ahead of his heroine's is stupid
August 14, 2012
Read June 2010.
A step sibling drama. Great read, well written.
A step sibling drama. Great read, well written.
September 21, 2012
3.5 stars. I honestly don't know what to say about this book, but it wasn't bad.
June 5, 2025
The cover of this one is so off-putting - she looks about 45 - and yet in the book she is a very young 22.
So, heroine (22) has run out on slimy, cheating husband who she married on the rebound from the hero 4 years before. The hero (who she thinks is her half brother, 39) is a quiet medieval history academic (yet she sees a pair of pants with 'Tiger' on the crotch when he is digging in his underwear drawer for a hairdryer??? lol) who has been in love with her for 4 years as well.
The heroine is too vapid to carry the story (goodness knows what she does with her time), but she's hot and lusty for the hero, so the clever boy doesn't worry about her brains.
The drama revolves around finding out that they are not related and how they are going to be together as she's fully into it, and he's beta - no/yes/no/yes/no. Aside from that, he's quite likeable (and she's ok) and has been celibate for 4 years since their make-out session when she was 18 (she waited about 2 weeks).
3 stars (I think I would have liked it more if it had been one of her 70s ones, but this was from 1989 and lacked that vintage feel).
So, heroine (22) has run out on slimy, cheating husband who she married on the rebound from the hero 4 years before. The hero (who she thinks is her half brother, 39) is a quiet medieval history academic (yet she sees a pair of pants with 'Tiger' on the crotch when he is digging in his underwear drawer for a hairdryer??? lol) who has been in love with her for 4 years as well.
The heroine is too vapid to carry the story (goodness knows what she does with her time), but she's hot and lusty for the hero, so the clever boy doesn't worry about her brains.
The drama revolves around finding out that they are not related and how they are going to be together as she's fully into it, and he's beta - no/yes/no/yes/no. Aside from that, he's quite likeable (and she's ok) and has been celibate for 4 years since their make-out session when she was 18 (she waited about 2 weeks).
3 stars (I think I would have liked it more if it had been one of her 70s ones, but this was from 1989 and lacked that vintage feel).
July 23, 2026
Too much of an incest vibe for me!
BTW: if the H hadn't slept with anyone in the time that they were apart while the h was "married" to another man (no matter how crappy he was), how come no one was complaining about that? Usually, viewers don't like it when the h is celibate while the H sleeps with another woman yet if it's the other way around then it's okay? That doesn't make sense and sounds like a double standard, and not a fair one, since it's resented when it's the other way around.
BTW: if the H hadn't slept with anyone in the time that they were apart while the h was "married" to another man (no matter how crappy he was), how come no one was complaining about that? Usually, viewers don't like it when the h is celibate while the H sleeps with another woman yet if it's the other way around then it's okay? That doesn't make sense and sounds like a double standard, and not a fair one, since it's resented when it's the other way around.
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August 23, 2022I gotta agree with all of you guys, the H's name was really stupid, i dont get it, A.M. could really have chosen any other Italian name for the hero..anything but..
The story was cute, but the h was beta and i dont like that.
The story was cute, but the h was beta and i dont like that.
April 19, 2015
Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I love this book! I think it's because obviously I knew that the two main characters were not actually half-brother and sister and there was a huge misunderstanding somewhere along the way. It turns out, I was right! Shocker.
Anne Mather is an effective writer, and very good at writing sexual tension. Her sex scenes are... ok, but I hate the word 'moist' so that spoiled things a bit ;-)
Cass flees to Italy to her "half-brother" Ben, who she's obviously desperately in love with. She's fleeing an abusive relationship with Roger Fielding, who she married only to make Ben jealous. Throughout the course of the book, we find out that Cass and Ben grew up spending summers together, and when Cass turned eighteen, their friendship turned to passion. Of course, there's that icky feeling of, "um, isn't that incest?!" but you know since it's a Harlequin, naturally it's going to turn out that they aren't siblings!
Misunderstandings and mis-communications ensue, but in the end, they live happily ever after. Solid writing, a likable heroine (if a bit dim ... and she is described far too many times as 'thin' for my liking) and an anguished hero. What's not to enjoy about that.
Anne Mather is an effective writer, and very good at writing sexual tension. Her sex scenes are... ok, but I hate the word 'moist' so that spoiled things a bit ;-)
Cass flees to Italy to her "half-brother" Ben, who she's obviously desperately in love with. She's fleeing an abusive relationship with Roger Fielding, who she married only to make Ben jealous. Throughout the course of the book, we find out that Cass and Ben grew up spending summers together, and when Cass turned eighteen, their friendship turned to passion. Of course, there's that icky feeling of, "um, isn't that incest?!" but you know since it's a Harlequin, naturally it's going to turn out that they aren't siblings!
Misunderstandings and mis-communications ensue, but in the end, they live happily ever after. Solid writing, a likable heroine (if a bit dim ... and she is described far too many times as 'thin' for my liking) and an anguished hero. What's not to enjoy about that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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