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Dacre Family #2
Surrender to Seduction
Geraldine Dacre is beautiful, sophisticated and loved by all, but she's yet to surrender to love. Only one man turns her -- head Bryn Falconer. Gerry falls in love the moment she sees him cradling a baby, awakening all her most primal instincts ...
Returning from a business trip, Bryn and Gerry are stranded, and Gerry finally surrenders to her passion. Then she discovers that she has been not so much stranded as abducted, and that Bryn's seduction might have been far from genuine!
Returning from a business trip, Bryn and Gerry are stranded, and Gerry finally surrenders to her passion. Then she discovers that she has been not so much stranded as abducted, and that Bryn's seduction might have been far from genuine!
Paperback
First published November 8, 1998
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Donald
447 books145 followersRobyn Elaine Donald was born on 14 August 1940 in Northland, New Zealand. She was the oldest child in her family, and as a child, she thrilled her four sisters and one brother with bloodcurdling adventure tales, usually very like the latest book she'd borrowed from the library.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 20, 2015
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It has some very nontraditional aspects to the storyline, with two delays on what I'd consider a textbook romance HEA. Also, the hero does something pretty lousy to the heroine (even if he thought he had good reasons at the time). I understand his motives, but the way he made excuses about it, I didn't like it so much. Readers who like a heroine with serious commitment issues might enjoy this. Her mother has a history of running out on her family and lovers. Gerry has avoided relationships because of her fear that she can't stay in love and stay committed to a man. Bryn causes all kinds of intense emotions in her, and while she's tried to avoid him, he continually engineers situations where they are in contact, with some very calculated reasons.
It's not my favorite by this author. I think it's emotionally intense in the way her books are, but it wasn't satisfying to me. I guess I'm just old-fashioned. I like a committed HEA at the end of my book (this one has it, but there's a two year delay.) This kept my interest, so that's something.
It's not my favorite by this author. I think it's emotionally intense in the way her books are, but it wasn't satisfying to me. I guess I'm just old-fashioned. I like a committed HEA at the end of my book (this one has it, but there's a two year delay.) This kept my interest, so that's something.
February 15, 2023
The heroine here is not the usual virgin teenager crazy for the hero that sadly we find very often in rd.
She’s 30 and experienced.
And she plays with men.
The hero is the usual hard and ruthless rd hero but he falls for the heroine as if he’s a 15 yo with his first crush.
He manages to invite her to a dream island ( don’t forget that RD is from New Zealand that is paradise per se) where they are both very attracted to each other. The heroine though doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t want to get involved with him.
He offers a ONS and she refuses.
When she has to go back to the mainland for a work emergency their boat has electronic issues and they are forced to wait for help.
Of course there is when the heroine surrenders to seduction. And the day after she finds out that there’s no failure in their boat, the hero kidnapped her because her business partner has been trafficking with drugs.
This was quite a shock for the heroine and for me too because I thought that the hero only kidnapped her to seduce her. But he had other reasons.
Romantic old bitch that I am, I hoped until the end he wanted to stay with the heroine, but this is more Penny Jordan style, not RD.
I had my revenge in the end because it was the hero to come back for the heroine and to declare his love for her, and it was the heroine to tell him she wasn’t sure of her love for him and she wanted to wait at least two years before marrying him.
Little things in life.
Not bad at all, the hero is the usual ruthless, cold and hard man that in RD dictionary means he’s a real alpha male, but in this case he’s a little too cold and detached and I couldn’t really feel the passion he claims to feel for the heroine since he first saw her. There’s always a very small line between being a self assured and determined man and being a cold fish and here’s the line is very blurred.
The heroine has her issues but she’s not naive or victim and this is a great step for RD that usually wants her heroines battered, cheated and betrayed. She is the one with doubts and the hero must use patience and persuasion in order to marry her.
She’s 30 and experienced.
And she plays with men.
The hero is the usual hard and ruthless rd hero but he falls for the heroine as if he’s a 15 yo with his first crush.
He manages to invite her to a dream island ( don’t forget that RD is from New Zealand that is paradise per se) where they are both very attracted to each other. The heroine though doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t want to get involved with him.
He offers a ONS and she refuses.
When she has to go back to the mainland for a work emergency their boat has electronic issues and they are forced to wait for help.
Of course there is when the heroine surrenders to seduction. And the day after she finds out that there’s no failure in their boat, the hero kidnapped her because her business partner has been trafficking with drugs.
This was quite a shock for the heroine and for me too because I thought that the hero only kidnapped her to seduce her. But he had other reasons.
Romantic old bitch that I am, I hoped until the end he wanted to stay with the heroine, but this is more Penny Jordan style, not RD.
I had my revenge in the end because it was the hero to come back for the heroine and to declare his love for her, and it was the heroine to tell him she wasn’t sure of her love for him and she wanted to wait at least two years before marrying him.
Little things in life.
Not bad at all, the hero is the usual ruthless, cold and hard man that in RD dictionary means he’s a real alpha male, but in this case he’s a little too cold and detached and I couldn’t really feel the passion he claims to feel for the heroine since he first saw her. There’s always a very small line between being a self assured and determined man and being a cold fish and here’s the line is very blurred.
The heroine has her issues but she’s not naive or victim and this is a great step for RD that usually wants her heroines battered, cheated and betrayed. She is the one with doubts and the hero must use patience and persuasion in order to marry her.
March 28, 2017
The owner of a model agency heroine and “importer” hero spark instant attraction and defensiveness when they meet the morning she finds a newborn baby on her doorstep.
The heroine is starting a holiday and is at loose ends, so the hero offers a small proposal. She’ll check out some hats made on a small South Pacific island and tell him how to promote them for the NZ market.
So off she goes thinking she’ll get a break - and the first person she meets there is the disturbing hero. They are joined by a couple with a bulimic teenager. There are lots of conversations about the beauty industry, the dangers of the anorexia and bulimia, and who is to blame. The hero had a sister who died of anorexia so he despises what the heroine does on principle.
The heroine’s holiday is cut short when she receives a call that one of her models is in the hospital after a heroin overdoes. She desperate to get back and the hero leaps into action, offering to take her in a boat to the island with the airport. They leave at night and in the morning when the heroine wakes up, she finds they are anchored off a deserted island.
Something electrical is wrong with the boat, so the H/h make the best of it. Cooking meals, preserving water, going swimming, etc. Eventually they fall into bed together. The hero thinks the heroine is a virgin, but it’s just been a long time. Later on that day, the heroine falls against the controls and the engine leaps to life.
Seems the hero has “kidnapped” her while the authorities are combing her computers. She’s under suspicion for running a drug ring out of her agency. Her father lost everything before he died – she paid it back - so they think money is her motive. The heroine is angry the hero took advantage of her – and frightened that he’s going to kill her – and angry at herself for believing he liked her. The hero treats her coldly and eventually he’s given the all clear for the heroine to be taken back to NZ.
They don’t see each other for six months as the heroine’s partner goes to court for her part in the drug ring. The hero eventually shows up to explain his part in the law enforcement sting and to ask her to marry him. As a gesture of good faith he finds the man who duped her father and has him sent to prison.
He never really apologizes to the heroine – but he does say he loves her. Heroine is wary of marriage and wants them to live together for two years before she’ll commit. Two years passes, the hero reminds her it’s their anniversary and she says yes after some cajoling. The last scene is the hero finding the newborn and the two of them watching her play with her adoptive parents.
This one was certainly unusual. There are some really slow parts – like the lectures about bulimia – but that was offset by the high angst when the heroine was locked on the boat after the hero seduced her and then turned on her.
Even though RD gave them two years to work on their trust issues – it was only given one paragraph in page time and I was still back at the betrayal on the boat – so the ending wasn’t all that satisfying.
The heroine is starting a holiday and is at loose ends, so the hero offers a small proposal. She’ll check out some hats made on a small South Pacific island and tell him how to promote them for the NZ market.
So off she goes thinking she’ll get a break - and the first person she meets there is the disturbing hero. They are joined by a couple with a bulimic teenager. There are lots of conversations about the beauty industry, the dangers of the anorexia and bulimia, and who is to blame. The hero had a sister who died of anorexia so he despises what the heroine does on principle.
The heroine’s holiday is cut short when she receives a call that one of her models is in the hospital after a heroin overdoes. She desperate to get back and the hero leaps into action, offering to take her in a boat to the island with the airport. They leave at night and in the morning when the heroine wakes up, she finds they are anchored off a deserted island.
Something electrical is wrong with the boat, so the H/h make the best of it. Cooking meals, preserving water, going swimming, etc. Eventually they fall into bed together. The hero thinks the heroine is a virgin, but it’s just been a long time. Later on that day, the heroine falls against the controls and the engine leaps to life.
Seems the hero has “kidnapped” her while the authorities are combing her computers. She’s under suspicion for running a drug ring out of her agency. Her father lost everything before he died – she paid it back - so they think money is her motive. The heroine is angry the hero took advantage of her – and frightened that he’s going to kill her – and angry at herself for believing he liked her. The hero treats her coldly and eventually he’s given the all clear for the heroine to be taken back to NZ.
They don’t see each other for six months as the heroine’s partner goes to court for her part in the drug ring. The hero eventually shows up to explain his part in the law enforcement sting and to ask her to marry him. As a gesture of good faith he finds the man who duped her father and has him sent to prison.
He never really apologizes to the heroine – but he does say he loves her. Heroine is wary of marriage and wants them to live together for two years before she’ll commit. Two years passes, the hero reminds her it’s their anniversary and she says yes after some cajoling. The last scene is the hero finding the newborn and the two of them watching her play with her adoptive parents.
This one was certainly unusual. There are some really slow parts – like the lectures about bulimia – but that was offset by the high angst when the heroine was locked on the boat after the hero seduced her and then turned on her.
Even though RD gave them two years to work on their trust issues – it was only given one paragraph in page time and I was still back at the betrayal on the boat – so the ending wasn’t all that satisfying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2018
Edit: eep, definitely spoilers! Forgot to click the slider!
One morning, Geraldine looks out her window and sees a cardboard box on her lawn. She thinks maybe it’s kittens but when she goes to investigate: it’s a baby. Gerry is super competent and she’s getting the baby warmed up when her housemate arrives home with a sexy man. He’s too old for Cara, and Gerry is jealous and trying not to be judgemental and snappy while cuddling the baby, and if this was going where any romance reader would expect, finding a baby would be the A plot, but it’s not. Robyn Donald very firmly demonstrates that NZ police and social services are competent professionals to whom a baby can be immediately and guiltlessly entrusted. Take that, rest of the world! NZ is a Utopia and it owns you times 1000.
The baby safely situated, the actual plot kicks in, as hero Bryn lures Gerry to a tropical paradise on the pretext of getting her to look at some hats. Gerry runs a modelling agency with her absent partner. Cara is one of her models. Gerry is 29 and is starting to get bored with the business because she gets bored with stuff quickly. It’s why she doesn’t do relationships, because she doesn’t like breaking hearts. She has lots of wealthy relatives and references a cousin heroine gold medal javelin winner. Haven’t read this one yet.
Bryn is mysteriously an importer and while he’s naturally in to Gerry because she’s hot and they’re each other’s destiny, he disapproves of her fashion business. It forces women to aspire to impossible standards of beauty etc. Gerry attempts the debate by observing that body image as identity was endemic before magazines and isn’t it interesting that men like Bryn universally condemn women for it? Like everyone else ever, Bryn is not buying it. I feel Gerry’s pain because I’ve rarely been successful at turning a debate. And now, to counter balance the evils of the fashion industry- Gerry has to mentor a teenage girl with neglectful parents and bulimia.
It’s all looking grim when Gerry gets a call from home: one of her models has OD’d on heroin and Gerry’s partner is nowhere to be found. Determined to get back to Auckland and sort out the mess, Gerry accepts a boat ride from Bryn to the airport. But then, there’s a problem with the boat’s electronics and they are marooned off a tiny atol.
Sexual tension builds over a day or so stuck in relative luxury and then: orgasms. And after that: naked swimming and a beach picnic. It’s all really nice and Gerry’s starting to really like Bryn, but then they get back to the boat and she discovers that it’s not disabled, and for reasons he won’t reveal, Bryn is keeping her prisoner.
So Gerry’s pretty glum, and she can’t drive the boat so any plans to overpower Bryn are doomed to failure. And she thinks maybe he’s a drug dealer and this all has something to do with her OD model. But no - Bryn is working with the police because Gerry is the drug dealer maybe! There’s accounts in her name and dirty business deals and poor Gerry. She starts having these internal convos about how drugs and fashion are an evil mix of beauty and death and I had to roll my eyes a bit over her melodrama.
Eventually Bryn gets the clear and let’s her go. And then he shows up 6 months later after the business partner’s trial and it’s lovely: he accepts that she’s worried about her relationship staying power and suggests they just live together for two years. And, they track down the baby and she’s been adopted and everybody looks happy.
‘Seduction’ was a palate cleanser after ‘Smoke’ and Bryn, after I got through his judgemental side, is one of RD’s rare sweet heroes. He was totally comfortable going along with no immediate marriage and was clearly Gerry’s protector and cheer squad without trying to take over her life. And I am such a sucker for an OTT kidnaping plot, especially when the heroine has no idea for most of it that she’s been kidnaped. It’s funny. While I could have done without the socially conscious lectures on drug use and eating disorders, this was a minor point. ‘Seduction’ is one of RD’s rare lighter plots and I liked it.
One morning, Geraldine looks out her window and sees a cardboard box on her lawn. She thinks maybe it’s kittens but when she goes to investigate: it’s a baby. Gerry is super competent and she’s getting the baby warmed up when her housemate arrives home with a sexy man. He’s too old for Cara, and Gerry is jealous and trying not to be judgemental and snappy while cuddling the baby, and if this was going where any romance reader would expect, finding a baby would be the A plot, but it’s not. Robyn Donald very firmly demonstrates that NZ police and social services are competent professionals to whom a baby can be immediately and guiltlessly entrusted. Take that, rest of the world! NZ is a Utopia and it owns you times 1000.
The baby safely situated, the actual plot kicks in, as hero Bryn lures Gerry to a tropical paradise on the pretext of getting her to look at some hats. Gerry runs a modelling agency with her absent partner. Cara is one of her models. Gerry is 29 and is starting to get bored with the business because she gets bored with stuff quickly. It’s why she doesn’t do relationships, because she doesn’t like breaking hearts. She has lots of wealthy relatives and references a cousin heroine gold medal javelin winner. Haven’t read this one yet.
Bryn is mysteriously an importer and while he’s naturally in to Gerry because she’s hot and they’re each other’s destiny, he disapproves of her fashion business. It forces women to aspire to impossible standards of beauty etc. Gerry attempts the debate by observing that body image as identity was endemic before magazines and isn’t it interesting that men like Bryn universally condemn women for it? Like everyone else ever, Bryn is not buying it. I feel Gerry’s pain because I’ve rarely been successful at turning a debate. And now, to counter balance the evils of the fashion industry- Gerry has to mentor a teenage girl with neglectful parents and bulimia.
It’s all looking grim when Gerry gets a call from home: one of her models has OD’d on heroin and Gerry’s partner is nowhere to be found. Determined to get back to Auckland and sort out the mess, Gerry accepts a boat ride from Bryn to the airport. But then, there’s a problem with the boat’s electronics and they are marooned off a tiny atol.
Sexual tension builds over a day or so stuck in relative luxury and then: orgasms. And after that: naked swimming and a beach picnic. It’s all really nice and Gerry’s starting to really like Bryn, but then they get back to the boat and she discovers that it’s not disabled, and for reasons he won’t reveal, Bryn is keeping her prisoner.
So Gerry’s pretty glum, and she can’t drive the boat so any plans to overpower Bryn are doomed to failure. And she thinks maybe he’s a drug dealer and this all has something to do with her OD model. But no - Bryn is working with the police because Gerry is the drug dealer maybe! There’s accounts in her name and dirty business deals and poor Gerry. She starts having these internal convos about how drugs and fashion are an evil mix of beauty and death and I had to roll my eyes a bit over her melodrama.
Eventually Bryn gets the clear and let’s her go. And then he shows up 6 months later after the business partner’s trial and it’s lovely: he accepts that she’s worried about her relationship staying power and suggests they just live together for two years. And, they track down the baby and she’s been adopted and everybody looks happy.
‘Seduction’ was a palate cleanser after ‘Smoke’ and Bryn, after I got through his judgemental side, is one of RD’s rare sweet heroes. He was totally comfortable going along with no immediate marriage and was clearly Gerry’s protector and cheer squad without trying to take over her life. And I am such a sucker for an OTT kidnaping plot, especially when the heroine has no idea for most of it that she’s been kidnaped. It’s funny. While I could have done without the socially conscious lectures on drug use and eating disorders, this was a minor point. ‘Seduction’ is one of RD’s rare lighter plots and I liked it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2020
I thought 3 stars but then recalled the ending ... Which deserved an extra star ... One of those rare RD books where the h takes time to work through her feelings at the end so they live together before finally marrying ... While H started off as manipulative and mean, I did like him for his steady patience in those 2 years ...
He thinks she is involved in drugs and so kidnaps her while an investigation is ongoing ...
He thinks she is involved in drugs and so kidnaps her while an investigation is ongoing ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
own-but-wont-read-or-wallbanger
November 5, 2019Seduction/abduction
Geraldine Dacre is beautiful, sophisticated and loved by all, but she has yet to surrender to love. Only one man turns her head - Bryn Falconer.
Returning from a business trip, Bryn and Gerry are stranded, and Gerry finally surrenders to her passion. Then she discovers that she has not been so much stranded as abducted, and that Bryn's seduction might have been far from genuine!
Geraldine Dacre is beautiful, sophisticated and loved by all, but she has yet to surrender to love. Only one man turns her head - Bryn Falconer.
Returning from a business trip, Bryn and Gerry are stranded, and Gerry finally surrenders to her passion. Then she discovers that she has not been so much stranded as abducted, and that Bryn's seduction might have been far from genuine!
September 3, 2016
To be fair, I only requested this book from my library system because it was set in New Zealand, and I'd just read a few non-fiction books about New Zealand that were fantastic.
This one was a might-bit predictable, and set a good 15 years before I read it. I found the 'heroine' Gerry hard to relate to, and mostly unlikable except for her fondness for the baby that she discovers on her front stoop in the book's first scene. Yes, you read that right; she finds a baby on her doorstep straight off. I probably should have put the book down at that point, but I did enjoy the foreign colloquialisms, so I stuck with it.
This one was a might-bit predictable, and set a good 15 years before I read it. I found the 'heroine' Gerry hard to relate to, and mostly unlikable except for her fondness for the baby that she discovers on her front stoop in the book's first scene. Yes, you read that right; she finds a baby on her doorstep straight off. I probably should have put the book down at that point, but I did enjoy the foreign colloquialisms, so I stuck with it.
August 4, 2013
only starting and ending were interesting.... and doesn't have any connection with Dacre family except for name ..disappointing :(
July 28, 2024
"Surrender to Seduction" is the story of Gerry and Bryn.
Heroine manages a fashion agency, and hero is in "export".
She is hired by him for a job, then ends up getting stranded in a boat. The drama that ensures forms part of the story, the rest is filled with deception and sexual attraction between the leads.
Actually enjoyed parts of the story but why was so much time spent discussing heroine's lack of virginity?
Safe
3/5
Heroine manages a fashion agency, and hero is in "export".
She is hired by him for a job, then ends up getting stranded in a boat. The drama that ensures forms part of the story, the rest is filled with deception and sexual attraction between the leads.
Actually enjoyed parts of the story but why was so much time spent discussing heroine's lack of virginity?
Safe
3/5
June 25, 2019
A very unusual story. Was quite hard going and it wasn't until the last few chapters that the story made sense.
November 21, 2020
Just kind of blah despite a could-have-been-good plot. But there was a long boring section with too much about eating disorders and weather and the hardscrabble existence on the Pacific islands.
August 26, 2024
SKIP boring couldn’t finish.
February 9, 2015
(M&B) For some reason I have a great liking for NZ authors, that is because I have never read one I haven't liked. This story had the same effect....Good read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews