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A Man Possessed
He'd rejected her once already
A cruel fate brought Dominic Harland back into Kate Hammond's life.
Eight years ago, in the midst of a bleak marriage, Kate had offered herself to Dominic only to be humiliatingly rejected. The pain had lingered, and after her husband's death she'd vowed there would be no men in her life.
Kate was starting over--selling her house, starting a business--when Dominic reappeared, still hurting her, still desiring her. But as she began to understand him, Kate's anger turned to love. And she was more afraid of Dominic than ever....
A cruel fate brought Dominic Harland back into Kate Hammond's life.
Eight years ago, in the midst of a bleak marriage, Kate had offered herself to Dominic only to be humiliatingly rejected. The pain had lingered, and after her husband's death she'd vowed there would be no men in her life.
Kate was starting over--selling her house, starting a business--when Dominic reappeared, still hurting her, still desiring her. But as she began to understand him, Kate's anger turned to love. And she was more afraid of Dominic than ever....
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
28 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,131 books671 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 11, 2021
Penny Jordan are one of the few hp authors i know of who can create steamy chemistry with no sex,and showed that well between the scarred heroine Kate Hammond,and the one man who have ever loved her,the charismatic Dominic Harland.
8 years is a long time,and at first i couldn`t believe it that Dominic had stayed celibate that long because he loved Kate.I mean wow what a shocking admission,and a pleasure to know that there are hp-heroes out there who can keep it in their pants for so long!
Their reunion is so bittersweet and filled with pain,guilt and longing.Dominic is so swoon-worthy that i wanted to eat him up!Talk about being a smitten hero!He was obviously very much in love with Kate,and couldn`t resist her this time.Kate could see that he very much desired her,but was too insecure to see that it was love he truly felt. Dominic Harland was really a man possessed over his heroine,and i loved every minute of it!
***
She caught the edge of violence in his voice, as he suddenly realised what she was doing.
'What the hell are you trying to do to me, damn you?' His voice shook, his face a bitter mask.
'Is that what turns you on? Building me up and then dropping me flat?'
Kate couldn't speak. She watched him study her in silence, and then with a tinge of colour creeping up under his skin he said flatly, 'You're doing this to punish me, aren't you. ..? Aren't you, damn you?
-Dominic
8 years is a long time,and at first i couldn`t believe it that Dominic had stayed celibate that long because he loved Kate.I mean wow what a shocking admission,and a pleasure to know that there are hp-heroes out there who can keep it in their pants for so long!
Their reunion is so bittersweet and filled with pain,guilt and longing.Dominic is so swoon-worthy that i wanted to eat him up!Talk about being a smitten hero!He was obviously very much in love with Kate,and couldn`t resist her this time.Kate could see that he very much desired her,but was too insecure to see that it was love he truly felt. Dominic Harland was really a man possessed over his heroine,and i loved every minute of it!
***
She caught the edge of violence in his voice, as he suddenly realised what she was doing.
'What the hell are you trying to do to me, damn you?' His voice shook, his face a bitter mask.
'Is that what turns you on? Building me up and then dropping me flat?'
Kate couldn't speak. She watched him study her in silence, and then with a tinge of colour creeping up under his skin he said flatly, 'You're doing this to punish me, aren't you. ..? Aren't you, damn you?
-Dominic
July 17, 2020
I liked this story and the obsessive hero more the second time around. Dominic really grew on me, even more so than Kate who'd originally garnered most of my sympathy. I liked him before but now, oh my, talk about swoon-worthy!
Bumping my rating from 4.0 to 4.5 stars. . . .
Dominic treated Kate rudely for two-thirds of the book, thinking she was The Nymphomaniac of All Time in this universe and parallel ones too. I didn't hate him, however, as I felt he had plausible evidence to back up his assumptions. The author also redeemed Dominic enough for me by portraying him as uber-smitten and apologetic later.
Kate wasn't the only one to suffer. Dominic, too, underwent years of unrequited longing, desperately fighting his feelings because—being the scrupulous man that he was—how could he love and desire a promiscuous woman such as Kate? Of course, Kate was vindicated in the end. I liked seeing Dominic grovel and finally giving in to his long-suppressed and possessive love in some passionate love scenes.
The only aspect I didn't like as much was Dominic letting eight, long-a$$ years pass before doing something to exorcize the past and, therefore, Kate. Long separations don't bother me in theory and, yes, he believed she was still unavailable (married) and held conflicting feelings for her, but come on.
Quibble aside, the likable characters and angst both kept my interest. And passionate romance, of course!
Bumping my rating from 4.0 to 4.5 stars. . . .
Dominic treated Kate rudely for two-thirds of the book, thinking she was The Nymphomaniac of All Time in this universe and parallel ones too. I didn't hate him, however, as I felt he had plausible evidence to back up his assumptions. The author also redeemed Dominic enough for me by portraying him as uber-smitten and apologetic later.
Kate wasn't the only one to suffer. Dominic, too, underwent years of unrequited longing, desperately fighting his feelings because—being the scrupulous man that he was—how could he love and desire a promiscuous woman such as Kate? Of course, Kate was vindicated in the end. I liked seeing Dominic grovel and finally giving in to his long-suppressed and possessive love in some passionate love scenes.
The only aspect I didn't like as much was Dominic letting eight, long-a$$ years pass before doing something to exorcize the past and, therefore, Kate. Long separations don't bother me in theory and, yes, he believed she was still unavailable (married) and held conflicting feelings for her, but come on.
Quibble aside, the likable characters and angst both kept my interest. And passionate romance, of course!
July 11, 2018
Wow. Eight years is a long time to be celibate for a woman who is married to your friend. Hero really was possessed. His only armor was slut shaming and punishing kisses, which worked very well in keeping the heroine nicely off-balance.
Boogenhagen has all the spoilers for this story of a heroine who married the wrong man at 18 and met the right man at 20. Fortunately her gambling, cheating husband left her a widow at 21 and now, six years later, she and the hero can finally have their HEA.
PJ wrote this so that the H/h would never had found their way to each other without the intervention of what seemed like the entire village. The heroine's friend had to tell the hero the entire truth of her marriage and even then it took more people nudging them together to finally have an HEA.
The interior design porn in this is exquisite, btw. Lots of interiors are described. Heroine is a stained glass designer.
Boogenhagen has all the spoilers for this story of a heroine who married the wrong man at 18 and met the right man at 20. Fortunately her gambling, cheating husband left her a widow at 21 and now, six years later, she and the hero can finally have their HEA.
PJ wrote this so that the H/h would never had found their way to each other without the intervention of what seemed like the entire village. The heroine's friend had to tell the hero the entire truth of her marriage and even then it took more people nudging them together to finally have an HEA.
The interior design porn in this is exquisite, btw. Lots of interiors are described. Heroine is a stained glass designer.
May 30, 2016
Re A Man Possessed- PJ tells the story of a 27 yr. old almost virgin widow whose big neurosis is that she has been convinced she is unattractive sexually to men. This feeling has a lot to do with the fact that her father died when she was 17 and her very estranged mother married her off to a neighbor with the promise of her father's farmland and an annual allowance.
The h thought she was in love at first, but soon realized she was trapped by a man who was completely indifferent to her sexually and was also a heavy gambler and consistently, promiscuously unfaithful but refused her a divorce. Fortunately he died in a car wreck with another woman and heavily in debt from gambling.
The h doesn't say too much bad about him though, she just says she shouldn't have married him. She also felt morally obligated to sell of all the farmland (her father's too), to pay his gambling debts -- even though she wasn't required legally to do so.
(This is a PJism that you just have to role with for the story. The mum wanted the h out of the way of her nice American life and so she paid to have her stuck with a loser, why the mum just did not leave the h be and pay her an allowance to stay away is never explained. But there is also more than a hint of malice on the mother's part, she sends the h designer outfits that were two sizes too small .)
The h has been living a fairly quiet, solitary existence and her very managing, nosy friend is convinced the h needs to be set up with a man to make her happy. So the story starts with the managing friend insisting the h come to a dinner party.
The h doesn't want to go, the MF is always trying to set her up with men and the h just doesn't want to go there. This time though, the h is trying to start a new life - she is starting a stained glass design business with a mentor and has decided to sell the Elizabethan home that was her dead husband's family manor. She agrees to go to the dinner party and the managing friend is totally delighted that the h is trying to make a new life without the baggage of her hideous dead husband.
The h is feeling a bit peppy too, even though she has dark thoughts about the rejection of her husband and another man who hurt her far worse than her dead hubby did. It seems dead hubby brought an old school friend home one weekend and it was lust at first sight for both of them.
The h, wanting to be a lurved up kitten so badly, sneaked into school friend's bed while hubby was out doing the rounds. This led to passionate kissing, then fierce rejection by the school friend and the h has never recovered from the humiliating rejection - the way she sees it, two playboys have now rejected her, so she must be worthless as an attractive woman.
Still the h feels there is no use crying over spilt milk, she has a stained glass design business to start, a manor house to sell and her dad's cottage to clean and move into. She is also going to a dinner party and lo, she can now fit into her mother's malicious clothing choices and she looks pretty good.
So it is off to dinner we go. The managing friend is there, as well as a new couple just moving into the neighborhood - they are in multinational investment banking and guess what? They brought a single friend who is working a deal with the husband.
The h is shocked to see it is the dead hubby's old school friend - the one that kissed her wildly and then kicked her to the curb, calling her trash. The h isn't too happy with this turn of events, but bravely soldiers on and put a polite face on things.
Then the old school friend starts making snide remarks about how she drove her hubby to gamble. The rest of the party is shocked and managing friend is about to read the riot act. The h brushes it off though and is also asked by the wife of the other couple to bring some stained glass designs for a Victorian conservatory over for a potential commission.
The h is happy at the thought of getting some business, she goes home after ignoring the H and his nastiness and starts to do some potential designs. The next day she goes over to the finance couple's new home and the wife wants one of the h's designs.
The h is pleased, even though the wife seems a bit nosy about how she knew old school friend and we find out that his father gave him a complex about women from the time he was two and his mother left his father. The h is less pleased when she finds out that the school friend is staying with the finance couple and her day really goes to pieces when her car won't start and the school friend gets elected to take her home.
They go to the h's house and there is more nasty comments, followed by passionate kissing - the h is afire with longing, but she isn't a toy and won't sleep with a guy who hates her. She kicks the H out and tries to soother her libido. The h has gotten an estate agent and the next time the H shows up (this time to deliver her now repaired car,) the H insinuates that she is sleeping with the estate agent too. The h is affronted and tells him off, but he leaves and the h figures good riddance - even though her body is saying stay, stay, stay.
The h meets the H again at another luncheon set up by the managing friend and the H insults her- again. The h leaves in a huff and the managing friend overhears the H's nastiness and lets him have it.
She tells him the whole story of the h's marriage and asks why didn't he know what kind of man his "friend" was and who does he think he is anyways? The H feels bad and goes over to the h's to apologize. She meets him a towel, she was in the bath when the doorbell rang, and it is too much for the poor, lurve starved for eight years H to resist. They fall into bed - (really these two need to stay far away from beds, every time there is one within a hundred yards, they both fall into it together, irregardless of how mean they are to each other.) It is the best, ever.
Then the h wakes up alone the next morning, no note, no call, no shake awake saying "I have to go, business calls." The h assumes she was just a one night stand and she isn't happy. She LOVES the H and he just wanted to dip his wick.
The h decides to go clean her new cottage home. The H eventually returns with no explanation, cause he is too busy being mean about the estate agent being at the h's house. She doesn't want to hear it and sends him off.
The H comes back AGAIN when the H decides he will buy the h's house, but he gets into another argument with the h and this time takes off with the estate agent. The H is forced to return to the h later though, there was a prison break from a nearby facility and the h can't stay alone, the H will stay with her to protect her from marauding men.
The h tries for indifference but that little lurve kitten persona just has to make an appearance and they wind up in bed, again. The h runs off this time and goes to see her business partner/mentor who tells the h that men are weird and to go back and tell the guy she lurves him. The h does, but on the way home she see's the H's car all wrecked up and the police tell her the driver died. The h is now in mourning cause she thinks the H who is the love of her life is dead.
The H isn't though, he is waiting on the h's couch and really mad she just left like that. ( I kept waiting for the h to say 'SNAP, how does it feel buddy', but PJ did not go there.) The escaped prisoner's stole the H's Beemer when he left his keys in it.
The h blurts out she loves him and the H is blurting out that he loves her too, he has been celibate for 8 years while obsessing over her. He doesn't hate his mom anymore either, his dad was pretty mean and caused his mother a nervous breakdown, so when the divorce came, the dad got custody of the H.
Not that any of that matters anymore, the H is marrying the h and she doesn't have to move and he has 8 years of abstinence to make up for. So it is off to bed for the passionate HEA and lurve club-a-thon.
This one is good, the H is suitably mean and the h has some decent comebacks. His eight years of obsession gives him a big pass for the most part - it is obvious he is out of his mind over the h. That makes up a for a lot failings in HPlandia - the H did not overindulge in the lady buffet and tell the h that it was always her in his heart.
Nope, this H stood firm against any substitutions (even tho he thought she was a teen age nympho,) and patiently waited until he could swing his club to good effect. A nice little story and the H was a refreshing change from the usual, he even almost apologized for being mean to the h and that makes this book a true HPlandia rarity.
The h thought she was in love at first, but soon realized she was trapped by a man who was completely indifferent to her sexually and was also a heavy gambler and consistently, promiscuously unfaithful but refused her a divorce. Fortunately he died in a car wreck with another woman and heavily in debt from gambling.
The h doesn't say too much bad about him though, she just says she shouldn't have married him. She also felt morally obligated to sell of all the farmland (her father's too), to pay his gambling debts -- even though she wasn't required legally to do so.
(This is a PJism that you just have to role with for the story. The mum wanted the h out of the way of her nice American life and so she paid to have her stuck with a loser, why the mum just did not leave the h be and pay her an allowance to stay away is never explained. But there is also more than a hint of malice on the mother's part, she sends the h designer outfits that were two sizes too small .)
The h has been living a fairly quiet, solitary existence and her very managing, nosy friend is convinced the h needs to be set up with a man to make her happy. So the story starts with the managing friend insisting the h come to a dinner party.
The h doesn't want to go, the MF is always trying to set her up with men and the h just doesn't want to go there. This time though, the h is trying to start a new life - she is starting a stained glass design business with a mentor and has decided to sell the Elizabethan home that was her dead husband's family manor. She agrees to go to the dinner party and the managing friend is totally delighted that the h is trying to make a new life without the baggage of her hideous dead husband.
The h is feeling a bit peppy too, even though she has dark thoughts about the rejection of her husband and another man who hurt her far worse than her dead hubby did. It seems dead hubby brought an old school friend home one weekend and it was lust at first sight for both of them.
The h, wanting to be a lurved up kitten so badly, sneaked into school friend's bed while hubby was out doing the rounds. This led to passionate kissing, then fierce rejection by the school friend and the h has never recovered from the humiliating rejection - the way she sees it, two playboys have now rejected her, so she must be worthless as an attractive woman.
Still the h feels there is no use crying over spilt milk, she has a stained glass design business to start, a manor house to sell and her dad's cottage to clean and move into. She is also going to a dinner party and lo, she can now fit into her mother's malicious clothing choices and she looks pretty good.
So it is off to dinner we go. The managing friend is there, as well as a new couple just moving into the neighborhood - they are in multinational investment banking and guess what? They brought a single friend who is working a deal with the husband.
The h is shocked to see it is the dead hubby's old school friend - the one that kissed her wildly and then kicked her to the curb, calling her trash. The h isn't too happy with this turn of events, but bravely soldiers on and put a polite face on things.
Then the old school friend starts making snide remarks about how she drove her hubby to gamble. The rest of the party is shocked and managing friend is about to read the riot act. The h brushes it off though and is also asked by the wife of the other couple to bring some stained glass designs for a Victorian conservatory over for a potential commission.
The h is happy at the thought of getting some business, she goes home after ignoring the H and his nastiness and starts to do some potential designs. The next day she goes over to the finance couple's new home and the wife wants one of the h's designs.
The h is pleased, even though the wife seems a bit nosy about how she knew old school friend and we find out that his father gave him a complex about women from the time he was two and his mother left his father. The h is less pleased when she finds out that the school friend is staying with the finance couple and her day really goes to pieces when her car won't start and the school friend gets elected to take her home.
They go to the h's house and there is more nasty comments, followed by passionate kissing - the h is afire with longing, but she isn't a toy and won't sleep with a guy who hates her. She kicks the H out and tries to soother her libido. The h has gotten an estate agent and the next time the H shows up (this time to deliver her now repaired car,) the H insinuates that she is sleeping with the estate agent too. The h is affronted and tells him off, but he leaves and the h figures good riddance - even though her body is saying stay, stay, stay.
The h meets the H again at another luncheon set up by the managing friend and the H insults her- again. The h leaves in a huff and the managing friend overhears the H's nastiness and lets him have it.
She tells him the whole story of the h's marriage and asks why didn't he know what kind of man his "friend" was and who does he think he is anyways? The H feels bad and goes over to the h's to apologize. She meets him a towel, she was in the bath when the doorbell rang, and it is too much for the poor, lurve starved for eight years H to resist. They fall into bed - (really these two need to stay far away from beds, every time there is one within a hundred yards, they both fall into it together, irregardless of how mean they are to each other.) It is the best, ever.
Then the h wakes up alone the next morning, no note, no call, no shake awake saying "I have to go, business calls." The h assumes she was just a one night stand and she isn't happy. She LOVES the H and he just wanted to dip his wick.
The h decides to go clean her new cottage home. The H eventually returns with no explanation, cause he is too busy being mean about the estate agent being at the h's house. She doesn't want to hear it and sends him off.
The H comes back AGAIN when the H decides he will buy the h's house, but he gets into another argument with the h and this time takes off with the estate agent. The H is forced to return to the h later though, there was a prison break from a nearby facility and the h can't stay alone, the H will stay with her to protect her from marauding men.
The h tries for indifference but that little lurve kitten persona just has to make an appearance and they wind up in bed, again. The h runs off this time and goes to see her business partner/mentor who tells the h that men are weird and to go back and tell the guy she lurves him. The h does, but on the way home she see's the H's car all wrecked up and the police tell her the driver died. The h is now in mourning cause she thinks the H who is the love of her life is dead.
The H isn't though, he is waiting on the h's couch and really mad she just left like that. ( I kept waiting for the h to say 'SNAP, how does it feel buddy', but PJ did not go there.) The escaped prisoner's stole the H's Beemer when he left his keys in it.
The h blurts out she loves him and the H is blurting out that he loves her too, he has been celibate for 8 years while obsessing over her. He doesn't hate his mom anymore either, his dad was pretty mean and caused his mother a nervous breakdown, so when the divorce came, the dad got custody of the H.
Not that any of that matters anymore, the H is marrying the h and she doesn't have to move and he has 8 years of abstinence to make up for. So it is off to bed for the passionate HEA and lurve club-a-thon.
This one is good, the H is suitably mean and the h has some decent comebacks. His eight years of obsession gives him a big pass for the most part - it is obvious he is out of his mind over the h. That makes up a for a lot failings in HPlandia - the H did not overindulge in the lady buffet and tell the h that it was always her in his heart.
Nope, this H stood firm against any substitutions (even tho he thought she was a teen age nympho,) and patiently waited until he could swing his club to good effect. A nice little story and the H was a refreshing change from the usual, he even almost apologized for being mean to the h and that makes this book a true HPlandia rarity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2019
"A Man Possessed" is the story of Kate and Dominic.
A sweet yet tear-jerking story of unrequited love, the book follows the journey of Kate Hammond.
Kate was married to one of the biggest dbags in the HQN-verse. He married her at 17 for money, cheated on her, and tore her sexual as well as personal confidence down.
However, the thing that actually shattered her was 3 years later, when temptation presented itself in the form of Dominic, her husband's classmate and starved for love and, the heroine blindly comes on to him. What she instead faces is a cruel rejection, something that breaks her remaining confidence, and makes her withdraw in an impenetrable shell for years..
8 years later, her shitty husband has passed away. Kate has finally decided to work on her dream, and has found a business partner. She has decided to sell the house she shared with her ex, and finally move on from her chained sanctuary..
Things are looking bright, until her best friend Sue invites her to dinner, and there she meets the accusing eyes of the man whom she never wanted to encounter again..
Their reunion is filled with cruel jabs, judgmental stares and painful yearnings.
But when the hero ends up going too far in a verbal spar, the best friend takes it upon herself to expose him to the heroine's past.
What follows is a tempestuous meeting of bodies and souls, and as our MC work towards understanding each other, they find their HEA.
What I adored in this read is the silent strength of the heroine as well as the hero. Yup, there was a lot of verbal accusations and cruel kisses- but nobody ever crossed the line. Also, they remained faithful to each other despite being in such different circumstances- her being married and him being far away and helpless!
A refreshing read!
Safe for me/ SWE for some
4.5/5
A sweet yet tear-jerking story of unrequited love, the book follows the journey of Kate Hammond.
Kate was married to one of the biggest dbags in the HQN-verse. He married her at 17 for money, cheated on her, and tore her sexual as well as personal confidence down.
However, the thing that actually shattered her was 3 years later, when temptation presented itself in the form of Dominic, her husband's classmate and starved for love and, the heroine blindly comes on to him. What she instead faces is a cruel rejection, something that breaks her remaining confidence, and makes her withdraw in an impenetrable shell for years..
8 years later, her shitty husband has passed away. Kate has finally decided to work on her dream, and has found a business partner. She has decided to sell the house she shared with her ex, and finally move on from her chained sanctuary..
Things are looking bright, until her best friend Sue invites her to dinner, and there she meets the accusing eyes of the man whom she never wanted to encounter again..
Their reunion is filled with cruel jabs, judgmental stares and painful yearnings.
But when the hero ends up going too far in a verbal spar, the best friend takes it upon herself to expose him to the heroine's past.
What follows is a tempestuous meeting of bodies and souls, and as our MC work towards understanding each other, they find their HEA.
What I adored in this read is the silent strength of the heroine as well as the hero. Yup, there was a lot of verbal accusations and cruel kisses- but nobody ever crossed the line. Also, they remained faithful to each other despite being in such different circumstances- her being married and him being far away and helpless!
A refreshing read!
Safe for me/ SWE for some
4.5/5
September 14, 2021
This book is 5 stars only because the man was celibate for 8 years! Actually the title is appropriate, he is possessed. Heroine was married to Hero’s friend when she was a teenager. Her husband was a cheater and a gambler and treated her horribly. When the hero was a guest in their house, she actually tried to seduce him because she was feeling lonely and unwanted and she was attracted by the hero.
He rejected her disdainfully and left.
His friend told him many lies about the h, one of these was that she cheated on him repeatedly.
He believed all the lies.
8 years after, they meet again and the h is a widow.
The H is attracted to her but despises her because of what he thinks she did.
There is some forced seduction moment, with slut-shaming.
The heroine is a victim and acts like one. She doesn’t really stands for herself because she feels guilty for what happened years before.
The hero is the usual coward who resents his attraction and so blame the heroine for it.
In psychoanalysis this is a defense mechanism called projective identification, and it’s used by borderline people, which is not a good thing…
Because the man here is a borderline bordering on psychopath.
Then he finds out the truth about her but keeps slut-shaming her.
This is PJ.
Eventually he tries to justify his awful behavior saying he was so in love with her.
I don’t know what his kind of explanation was and I don’t want to think about it. It’s too much for me.
Anyway, it was typical PJ book.
He rejected her disdainfully and left.
His friend told him many lies about the h, one of these was that she cheated on him repeatedly.
He believed all the lies.
8 years after, they meet again and the h is a widow.
The H is attracted to her but despises her because of what he thinks she did.
There is some forced seduction moment, with slut-shaming.
The heroine is a victim and acts like one. She doesn’t really stands for herself because she feels guilty for what happened years before.
The hero is the usual coward who resents his attraction and so blame the heroine for it.
In psychoanalysis this is a defense mechanism called projective identification, and it’s used by borderline people, which is not a good thing…
Because the man here is a borderline bordering on psychopath.
Then he finds out the truth about her but keeps slut-shaming her.
This is PJ.
Eventually he tries to justify his awful behavior saying he was so in love with her.
I don’t know what his kind of explanation was and I don’t want to think about it. It’s too much for me.
Anyway, it was typical PJ book.
September 25, 2018
This was much better than I expected. But then again, it is a Penny Jordan classic. :)
The h was tricked into marriage by her mother and a man much older when she was only seventeen. She believed that her husband loved her and soon learned how wrong she was. He was cold, cruel and uncaring. He treated her horribly.
She met the H when her husband brought him to the house. She was instantly attracted to him and believed he felt the same. During an desperate moment, she tried to seduce the H. He was cold and cruel. Cutting her down and leaving her scarred for life.
Six years later, she is now a widow, finally pulling herself together after marriage to a lying, cheating drunk who left her deep in debt upon his death. Just when she can see a light at the end of her dark tunnel, the H walks back into her life.
He has a chip the size of a Stonehenge boulder on his shoulder. He’s nasty as hell to the h from the very start. It got to the point where the h’s bff has enough and told the H the truth about the h and told him about himself too. It was a beautiful moment. I love Liz.
I really enjoyed this book. The passion between the protagonists was there from the very beginning. It initially manifested in anger and cruelty, but after the H learned the truth, the passion could have burned the bed. There was a lot of sexay sexay going on too. And the H appeared to be quite a talented man! 😈
This one was a winner for me.
The h was tricked into marriage by her mother and a man much older when she was only seventeen. She believed that her husband loved her and soon learned how wrong she was. He was cold, cruel and uncaring. He treated her horribly.
She met the H when her husband brought him to the house. She was instantly attracted to him and believed he felt the same. During an desperate moment, she tried to seduce the H. He was cold and cruel. Cutting her down and leaving her scarred for life.
Six years later, she is now a widow, finally pulling herself together after marriage to a lying, cheating drunk who left her deep in debt upon his death. Just when she can see a light at the end of her dark tunnel, the H walks back into her life.
He has a chip the size of a Stonehenge boulder on his shoulder. He’s nasty as hell to the h from the very start. It got to the point where the h’s bff has enough and told the H the truth about the h and told him about himself too. It was a beautiful moment. I love Liz.
I really enjoyed this book. The passion between the protagonists was there from the very beginning. It initially manifested in anger and cruelty, but after the H learned the truth, the passion could have burned the bed. There was a lot of sexay sexay going on too. And the H appeared to be quite a talented man! 😈
This one was a winner for me.
June 27, 2016
Hmm, no HEA here.
The h is a somewhat bovine, shut down h as she was sold into a marriage by an evil mother we never get to meet. Her husband is a grade A jackass gambler that cheats tons and has no interest in her. He's been dead 6 years.
The H is a family friend who comes to visit. He kisses her once which lights a fire. The h has a hormonal meltdown and pops into bed to proposition the H whereupon he rejects her.. Let's face it, chicas, there is no coming back from that!
Years later the h has decided to take up stained glass making (I suspect not the most lucrative enterprise but this is a Harlequin). She meets up with the H who says a plethora of mean things all to do with what a slut she is. Given that he led her on initially this seems somewhat unfair. Not only that, but he says stuff in public.. at the dinner table.. in front of other people.
Every time he sees her it's her it's the same old thing, you frickin' floozy. They finally get together and it is, of course, combustible but oh so angsty.
I don't see much a a HEA, but at least the twee h finally got some good sex.
Sadly, the evil mother never appears.
The h is a somewhat bovine, shut down h as she was sold into a marriage by an evil mother we never get to meet. Her husband is a grade A jackass gambler that cheats tons and has no interest in her. He's been dead 6 years.
The H is a family friend who comes to visit. He kisses her once which lights a fire. The h has a hormonal meltdown and pops into bed to proposition the H whereupon he rejects her.. Let's face it, chicas, there is no coming back from that!
Years later the h has decided to take up stained glass making (I suspect not the most lucrative enterprise but this is a Harlequin). She meets up with the H who says a plethora of mean things all to do with what a slut she is. Given that he led her on initially this seems somewhat unfair. Not only that, but he says stuff in public.. at the dinner table.. in front of other people.
Every time he sees her it's her it's the same old thing, you frickin' floozy. They finally get together and it is, of course, combustible but oh so angsty.
I don't see much a a HEA, but at least the twee h finally got some good sex.
Sadly, the evil mother never appears.
August 23, 2012
I think the thing that dropped this down from 3 to 2 stars is that while the writing was competent, it wasn't very interesting. There was a lot of superfluous description of furniture but very little of the people involved. They didn't seem to spend a whole lot of time together. Their trauma from years ago could have been a whole lot more traumatic. OMG! I just realized, this HP hero was not nasty enough for me. Now, I realize that not all HP heros are of the nasty bent, but if you're going to be an ass be a strong, arrogant, misogynistic, vitriol spewing ass. He ignored Abraham Lincoln's classic advice - "Whatever you are, be a good one." He was a wimpy ass.
She had a number done on her by her dead husband and the results of that stayed consistant throughout the book and were not just poofted away with the hero's first kiss.
And here for the only time I can remember, a character other than the heroine or the hero had substantial amounts of POV.
She had a number done on her by her dead husband and the results of that stayed consistant throughout the book and were not just poofted away with the hero's first kiss.
And here for the only time I can remember, a character other than the heroine or the hero had substantial amounts of POV.
June 26, 2023
Unmistakable PJ, from the rag-rolling and dado rails to the batshit slut shaming. 8 years of celibacy in this one, for Kate, the h, widow of a gambling adulterer who neglected her, and Dominic, the man she tried to get sexual attention from on one occasion all those years ago. On the strength of this one kiss, both of them have ignored their beautiful, prime of life bodies for 8 years. To which I can only grimace and reiterate what Prince Buster in 1968 and The Specials in 1980 said best. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.
One estate agent, a stained glass business startup and a prison breakout later these two finally get it together, thank god. Extra star for PJ oral scene. Pour encourager les autres.
One estate agent, a stained glass business startup and a prison breakout later these two finally get it together, thank god. Extra star for PJ oral scene. Pour encourager les autres.
January 3, 2014
SPOILERS - PROCEED WITH CAUTION!! Another night shift and another Penny Jordan to get me through it.... This one is from 1986 and you can tell - the hero drives (wait for it...) a GOLD BMW... Yes - a car generally driven by idiots in a hideous colour to boot. It really was the decade that taste forgot. But leaving that aside... not only has he had a desperate lapse in sanity whilst consulting his auto-trader, he's also arrogant, quick to leap to (generally the wrong) conclusions, misogynostic (believing all women are like his mum who left him when he was a kid), aggressive, and potentially violent with the lovely childlike heroine. The heroine is a woman who has been badly treated by nearly everyone (including, latterly, the hero). Her mum has practically sold her into a loveless marriage so that she can go back to her luxurious lifestyle in America, only resurfacing occasionally to send her clothes from America which are too small for her, just to make the heroine feel worse about herself. Her husband has been a serial gambler and relentlessly cheated upon her before dying in a car smash. Finally, in a desperate attempt to restore her self esteem, she has tried to seduce Dominic (this was during the marriage days) and he has rejected her undermining her just that little bit more.
Eight years later and he's back - saying he's not stopped thinking about her and practically forcing himself upon her. As if things aren't bad enough for poor heroine, Kate, it turns out that the house she is living in is next door to a high security prison. Now, as soon as I read that, I knew - just KNEW - that someone was bound to escape and hold poor Kate to ransom just so that the hero can redeem his horrible self. Sadly, before they get the chance to do this, Dominic turns up "to protect her", forces himself upon her (again) "his face a mask of sexual excitement and anger". Indeed, it almost seems as if poor Kate needs rescuing from Dominic by the escaped prisoners and not the other way round. Sadly, all they do is nick the gold BMW and write it off for her - oh well, at least that's ridded one nasty thing about Dominic.
As a story this is okay - but only okay - there are lots of themes about the heroine feeling that she hasn't escaped childhood - however, one can't help but feel that she's making a big mistake by marrying anyone who's even a little bit like Dominic.
Eight years later and he's back - saying he's not stopped thinking about her and practically forcing himself upon her. As if things aren't bad enough for poor heroine, Kate, it turns out that the house she is living in is next door to a high security prison. Now, as soon as I read that, I knew - just KNEW - that someone was bound to escape and hold poor Kate to ransom just so that the hero can redeem his horrible self. Sadly, before they get the chance to do this, Dominic turns up "to protect her", forces himself upon her (again) "his face a mask of sexual excitement and anger". Indeed, it almost seems as if poor Kate needs rescuing from Dominic by the escaped prisoners and not the other way round. Sadly, all they do is nick the gold BMW and write it off for her - oh well, at least that's ridded one nasty thing about Dominic.
As a story this is okay - but only okay - there are lots of themes about the heroine feeling that she hasn't escaped childhood - however, one can't help but feel that she's making a big mistake by marrying anyone who's even a little bit like Dominic.
June 9, 2021
A cruel fate brought Dominic Harland back into Kate Hammond's life. Eight years ago, in
the midst of a bleak marriage arranged by her mother, Kate had offered herself to Dominic
only to be humiliatingly rejected. After that, and the death of her husband, she'd vowed
there would be no more men in her life.
Now, Kate is starting over—selling her house,
starting a business—when Dominic reappears, determined to claim what he had once
refused!
the midst of a bleak marriage arranged by her mother, Kate had offered herself to Dominic
only to be humiliatingly rejected. After that, and the death of her husband, she'd vowed
there would be no more men in her life.
Now, Kate is starting over—selling her house,
starting a business—when Dominic reappears, determined to claim what he had once
refused!
Want to read
January 9, 2016"Dulce penitencia"
February 20, 2023
Average feels. I’d been hankering for a PJ since my long set reading hiatus and this wasn’t the fuzziest welcome back. There is much background noise of Kate’s work as a stain glass artist as well as business mergers and other financial woes.
The h is a widow of many years living an extremely celibate life. Partly this is because of her guilt while she’d still been married and (in all honesty) had traversed past the moral compass of holy matrimony. Her husband had been a philandering alcoholic who plainly rejected her as his wife and chose to sleep around. While he ate his cake he also spread real ugly lies about his wife to anyone who’d listen. Honourable mentions: his dearest best friend.
Turns out this one time when the h is still married, the husband brings home this friend. Lonely and in need of some loving, Kate hits a real low and tries to seduce this friend while the husband is away for the night. This was a bit of a shock and I expect better from PJ hs.
The best friend who’s the H is disgusted by his friend’s wife who’s trying her darnest for him to drop his pants. He runs away not quite mincing his words.
Years later - 8 or such- they meet again. The H is still hurling ugly words at the h while she’s been a widow for over six years now. He assumes that she’s basically a slut and the h doesn’t bother to correct him. If anything she’s even more in love with the H and just stands by to receive whatever he says.
The h’s bff gets hold of the H after his numerous attempts at being offensive to the h. She tells him the real picture of the h’s marriage and her life as a monk ever since her husband died. The H is shocked and gets back to the h and quite quickly is down on his knees, apologizing and other things.
This was pretty straightforward minus the background noise and monologues. Have read way angstier and passionate stuff from my fave PJ.
The h is a widow of many years living an extremely celibate life. Partly this is because of her guilt while she’d still been married and (in all honesty) had traversed past the moral compass of holy matrimony. Her husband had been a philandering alcoholic who plainly rejected her as his wife and chose to sleep around. While he ate his cake he also spread real ugly lies about his wife to anyone who’d listen. Honourable mentions: his dearest best friend.
Turns out this one time when the h is still married, the husband brings home this friend. Lonely and in need of some loving, Kate hits a real low and tries to seduce this friend while the husband is away for the night. This was a bit of a shock and I expect better from PJ hs.
The best friend who’s the H is disgusted by his friend’s wife who’s trying her darnest for him to drop his pants. He runs away not quite mincing his words.
Years later - 8 or such- they meet again. The H is still hurling ugly words at the h while she’s been a widow for over six years now. He assumes that she’s basically a slut and the h doesn’t bother to correct him. If anything she’s even more in love with the H and just stands by to receive whatever he says.
The h’s bff gets hold of the H after his numerous attempts at being offensive to the h. She tells him the real picture of the h’s marriage and her life as a monk ever since her husband died. The H is shocked and gets back to the h and quite quickly is down on his knees, apologizing and other things.
This was pretty straightforward minus the background noise and monologues. Have read way angstier and passionate stuff from my fave PJ.
May 2, 2025
On greater maturity I realise that all of Penny Jordan’s heroes are borderline abusive. They always blame the heroine for everything.
She slept with them? She’s a harlot. She left them. She’s a cheat. They saw her with someone. She’s got loose morals.
They will invariably meet her years later and gaslight her terribly. They will torture her till she is a shaking shivering mess thinking she’s a terrible and characterless person.
The hero himself may have slept through a whole buffet of women but he’s blameless. Male privilege.
This book is the same.
The heroine is forcibly married to a terrible two faced man. She is basically parentless. Her mother passes her off to the neighbour and leaves for America.
The husband loses interest in her pretty quickly. She’s alone. Scared. Lonely. Extremely young.
The husband’s school friend, the hero visits one weekend.
He kisses her when she takes a tea tray to his room. Is that the way to behave to your class mate’s wife??
She falls for the hero. Goes naked to his bed.
He calls her names. Throws her out.
Years later when she’s widowed because two faced husband managed to destroy himself and lover, the hero moves back to the locality.
He forces her to do some commissioned stain glass work for him. I think.
He calls her names. Scares her. She’s convinced he’ll tell everyone how shameless she is.
Anyway. They sort it out.
Hopefully he will not gaslight her after marriage.
But who knows?
Old habits die hard.
She slept with them? She’s a harlot. She left them. She’s a cheat. They saw her with someone. She’s got loose morals.
They will invariably meet her years later and gaslight her terribly. They will torture her till she is a shaking shivering mess thinking she’s a terrible and characterless person.
The hero himself may have slept through a whole buffet of women but he’s blameless. Male privilege.
This book is the same.
The heroine is forcibly married to a terrible two faced man. She is basically parentless. Her mother passes her off to the neighbour and leaves for America.
The husband loses interest in her pretty quickly. She’s alone. Scared. Lonely. Extremely young.
The husband’s school friend, the hero visits one weekend.
He kisses her when she takes a tea tray to his room. Is that the way to behave to your class mate’s wife??
She falls for the hero. Goes naked to his bed.
He calls her names. Throws her out.
Years later when she’s widowed because two faced husband managed to destroy himself and lover, the hero moves back to the locality.
He forces her to do some commissioned stain glass work for him. I think.
He calls her names. Scares her. She’s convinced he’ll tell everyone how shameless she is.
Anyway. They sort it out.
Hopefully he will not gaslight her after marriage.
But who knows?
Old habits die hard.
May 23, 2015
8 years celibate hero
July 12, 2022
1 1/2 stars, the half star given only because the pieces were there to be a good drama, but the author is just such a terrible writer and squandered those pieces to focus on some bullshit stuff that makes me think that the author was really struggling to reach the page-count quota when they really shouldn’t’ve if they were better at what they do.
The worst attempt at a Pride and Prejudice-like plot. Both heroine and male lead are so stupid that they can’t contemplate explanations of behaviors themselves and need ham-fisted explanations from others to resolve anything, and it’s not because they they can’t think of explanations themselves. For some reason, if they think of something themselves or say anything to each other it’s false; if other people say it, it’s true, even if other people say it in the exact same way with no personal take or perspective spun on it.
The male lead is not as psycho as other Harlequin male leads I’ve read but not by much. Still sexual assaulting the heroine, abusive, accusations that make him look not just like as asshole, but an idiot asshole. Dude man claims that he’s friends with husband to the point he’d take his word on a story over hers, but he wasn’t even close enough to know that he was dead for awhile?
There was a lot of call-attentions to “love vs desire” that made the story stupid and me roll my eyes all “get off your high horse, you both desire each other, you don’t love each other.” Truly there was nothing there to signal there was any semblance of love, since all the focus was on the trauma and fear and abuse inflicted on the heroine by the male lead, all the way to the end.
The worst attempt at a Pride and Prejudice-like plot. Both heroine and male lead are so stupid that they can’t contemplate explanations of behaviors themselves and need ham-fisted explanations from others to resolve anything, and it’s not because they they can’t think of explanations themselves. For some reason, if they think of something themselves or say anything to each other it’s false; if other people say it, it’s true, even if other people say it in the exact same way with no personal take or perspective spun on it.
The male lead is not as psycho as other Harlequin male leads I’ve read but not by much. Still sexual assaulting the heroine, abusive, accusations that make him look not just like as asshole, but an idiot asshole. Dude man claims that he’s friends with husband to the point he’d take his word on a story over hers, but he wasn’t even close enough to know that he was dead for awhile?
There was a lot of call-attentions to “love vs desire” that made the story stupid and me roll my eyes all “get off your high horse, you both desire each other, you don’t love each other.” Truly there was nothing there to signal there was any semblance of love, since all the focus was on the trauma and fear and abuse inflicted on the heroine by the male lead, all the way to the end.
September 4, 2023
I particularly enjoy the unhinged and obsessed male lead who displays a great deal of vulnerability and longing along with his raging 'I hate you' bully routine. The balance of power shifts rather early at the 3/4 mark, when the h has a revelation about the way she's been dealing with her own past abuse. She learns to stop feeling hurt and sorry for herself, and then she can see straight through the H. It's not often you get an h who is at once self aware and on to what is making the H tick in such a disordered and violent way. It was actually very fun to see her taking control of her emotions and being so mature and calm about things. Plus, tons and ton of PJ style melo drama. Loved it!
April 19, 2020
Who liked the random dude getting killed? That was really funny. So I feel bad for the couple. The heroine, I think, has serious ptsd and the hero is just going off one meeting which to be fair looked bad. But once the author put them back together and explained everything to the hero....the story got stuck. The heroine just freaking out over nothing that the hero could identify. Hope they moved outta the house, staying would be a bit creepy. I say read it but its not very good.
February 17, 2018
Είναι ο δεύτερος αντιπαθέστατος ήρωας που συναντάω στην αρλεκινίστικη ζωή μου.Θέλει επειγόντως ψυχίατρο και ψυχολόγο,χάπια ,ενέσεις και κάτι ακόμη.όχι ότι η ηρωίδα με ξετρέλανε η μου άρεσε...αλλά η περίπτωσή του είναι το κάτι άλλο!!Ίσως είναι προς αποφυγήν για πολλά γούστα!!!
December 7, 2022
Another PJ heroine who thinks she’s completely unattractive, a neuter to men. The H thinks she’s a sleep around. PJ used this plot before. Yawn.
June 25, 2014
Dominic Harland rejected Kate Hammond once before. Now he is back years later just when she is starting her life over again. Now she has to remember what she did one night.
I liked this book and hated when it was over. I love reading the older books of authors. You get to see how much their writing styles have changed.
I liked this book and hated when it was over. I love reading the older books of authors. You get to see how much their writing styles have changed.
September 6, 2011
Rating leri pek düşük bir kitap ama ben çok sevdim,çok güzel bir kitapti ...
October 27, 2011
Ok. Had a promising start but then it seemed like it kind of meandered for a while. Not sure I liked the hero's weaknesses.
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