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Single Combat
Lydia never even considered matrimony
As a pathway to happiness it was highly overrated. Her own mismatched parents, long divorced, were an example of what could go wrong.
Lydia had grown up without love. She'd learned to live without it, she thought. To be self-sufficient, to need no one but herself. Her relationships with men had been light and undemanding, ending when they proposed marriage.
Now here was James Connelly, who wouldn't be put off like the others. "Trust me," he said. And Lydia wanted to. But she was terrified of trusting herself to love....
As a pathway to happiness it was highly overrated. Her own mismatched parents, long divorced, were an example of what could go wrong.
Lydia had grown up without love. She'd learned to live without it, she thought. To be self-sufficient, to need no one but herself. Her relationships with men had been light and undemanding, ending when they proposed marriage.
Now here was James Connelly, who wouldn't be put off like the others. "Trust me," he said. And Lydia wanted to. But she was terrified of trusting herself to love....
- GenresHarlequin Presents
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1987
About the author
Sandra Field
214 books35 followersJill MacLean was born on 1941 in England, UK. In 1950, her family moved to Nova Scotia, Canada.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science with honours from Dalhousie University, she married. She worked at the Fisheries Research Board until her daughter was born. Following the birth of her son, she was employed by the pathology laboratory of Sydney City Hospital and the biology department of Mount Allison University. More recently, she completed a Masters in Theological Studies at the Atlantic School of Theology; her thesis juxtaposed Hebrew concepts of chaos in the book of Job with modern chaos theory.
When her husband joined the Armed Forces as a chaplain, she had to stop working. They moved three times in the first 18 months, the last move was to Prince Edward Island. By then her children were in school; she couldn't get a job; and at the local bridge club, she kept forgetting not to trump her partner's ace.
However, she had always loved to read, fascinated by the lure of being drawn into the other world of the story. So one day she bought a dozen Harlequin novels, read and analyzed them, then sat down and wrote one. Her first book, To Trust My Love, typed with four fingers, was published in 1974 as Sandra Field (she believes she's curiously the first Canadian to write for Harlequin). During the four years she lived in Prince Edward Island, she researched an 18th century French settlement located near present-day Brudenell, resulting in a historical book, Jean Pierre Roma, published in 1977 under her real name. She also started to write in collaboration with other Martimer writer under the pseudonym Jan MacLean. She also used to singed her novels the pseudonym of Jocelyn Haley. Her pseudonyms was an attempt to prevent the congregation from finding out what the chaplain's wife was up to in her spare time.
Before she turned 40, her life was changed, she had lost three of the most important women in her life: her mother and sister to illness, and her seventeen-year-old daughter to a car accident, and she separated from her husband in 1976. One of the lasting legacies of the grief caused by these losses has been the idea that it is impossible and undesirable to live every waking moment in the knowledge that loss can strike at any time.
She's been very fortunate for years to be able to combine a love of travel (particularly to the north - she doesn't do heat well) with her writing, by describing settings that most people will probably never visit. And there's always the challenge of making the heroine's long underwear sound romantic. Her novels has been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Greek, Dutch, Swedish, Yugoslavian, Japanese... and sold in more than 90 countries. Her first collection of poetry, The Brevity of Red, was published in 2003. When her nine-years-old grandson, Stuart, asked him a book for him, she wrote her first Children's book and decided continued writing this type of books.
Jill now lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and she's lived most of her life in the Maritimes of Canada, within reach of the sea. Kayaking and canoeing, hiking and gardening, listening to music and reading are all sources of great pleasure. But best of all are good friends, some going back to high-school days, and her family. In Newfoundland, she has a beautiful daughter-in-law and the two most delightful, handsome, and intelligent grandchildren in the world (of course!).
After receiving her Bachelor of Science with honours from Dalhousie University, she married. She worked at the Fisheries Research Board until her daughter was born. Following the birth of her son, she was employed by the pathology laboratory of Sydney City Hospital and the biology department of Mount Allison University. More recently, she completed a Masters in Theological Studies at the Atlantic School of Theology; her thesis juxtaposed Hebrew concepts of chaos in the book of Job with modern chaos theory.
When her husband joined the Armed Forces as a chaplain, she had to stop working. They moved three times in the first 18 months, the last move was to Prince Edward Island. By then her children were in school; she couldn't get a job; and at the local bridge club, she kept forgetting not to trump her partner's ace.
However, she had always loved to read, fascinated by the lure of being drawn into the other world of the story. So one day she bought a dozen Harlequin novels, read and analyzed them, then sat down and wrote one. Her first book, To Trust My Love, typed with four fingers, was published in 1974 as Sandra Field (she believes she's curiously the first Canadian to write for Harlequin). During the four years she lived in Prince Edward Island, she researched an 18th century French settlement located near present-day Brudenell, resulting in a historical book, Jean Pierre Roma, published in 1977 under her real name. She also started to write in collaboration with other Martimer writer under the pseudonym Jan MacLean. She also used to singed her novels the pseudonym of Jocelyn Haley. Her pseudonyms was an attempt to prevent the congregation from finding out what the chaplain's wife was up to in her spare time.
Before she turned 40, her life was changed, she had lost three of the most important women in her life: her mother and sister to illness, and her seventeen-year-old daughter to a car accident, and she separated from her husband in 1976. One of the lasting legacies of the grief caused by these losses has been the idea that it is impossible and undesirable to live every waking moment in the knowledge that loss can strike at any time.
She's been very fortunate for years to be able to combine a love of travel (particularly to the north - she doesn't do heat well) with her writing, by describing settings that most people will probably never visit. And there's always the challenge of making the heroine's long underwear sound romantic. Her novels has been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Greek, Dutch, Swedish, Yugoslavian, Japanese... and sold in more than 90 countries. Her first collection of poetry, The Brevity of Red, was published in 2003. When her nine-years-old grandson, Stuart, asked him a book for him, she wrote her first Children's book and decided continued writing this type of books.
Jill now lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and she's lived most of her life in the Maritimes of Canada, within reach of the sea. Kayaking and canoeing, hiking and gardening, listening to music and reading are all sources of great pleasure. But best of all are good friends, some going back to high-school days, and her family. In Newfoundland, she has a beautiful daughter-in-law and the two most delightful, handsome, and intelligent grandchildren in the world (of course!).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 9, 2016
Re Single Combat - SF brings us an HP that would actually fit better in the Harly American Line or the Superromance, cause really these people are just visiting HPlandia. This one is an h coming to terms with past baggage story and while it is a good character study, it doesn't seem to be a comfortable fit in most of HPlandia. These people are just too normal really.
The h is a 29 yr old corporate plant and foliage service manager and she comes from a family with a wealthy mum who is tragically in love with the h's father but is also an alcoholic and has been since the h was young. The h's father is a self-centered narcissist and the h's parents have been divorced for the last eleven years. The h never hears from her father, and her mother has been confined to a nursing home for the last five years due to her drinking and very poor health. The h dutifully visits once a week, but neither the mother or the father have ever really cared about the h's welfare, so she has a positive revulsion for marriage, affairs or male/female relationships.
She meets the H, who is an engineering manager while she is refusing the marriage proposal of the guy she has been dating on a platonic level for over a year. The H is flirty and the h is liking him, but really more anxious about deflecting the birthday proposal, so they part ways without the H knowing how to contact her. He knows she has a plant service and gets her name from the maitre d' of the restaurant they were both in the previous evening. He has his secretary place an order for office plants and when the h shows up, he finagles a date with her. Then he whisks her off on the company jet to Montreal, (they are in Toronto.) The h is a bit aggravated at being practically kidnapped, but the H charms her out of it and tells her he wants to get involved with her.
The h doesn't want to be romantically involved, married or have kids and she is pretty blunt about it. The H is persistent tho and he gradually worms his way into the h's life. There are some painful incidents with the h's mother sneaking alcohol and still bemoaning losing the h's father. The h's father makes an appearance too, and when he sends a mink coat for Christmas that the h trades in for a tropical vacation cause she hates it, we see how shallow and distant he is.
The H winds up dragging the h around to meet his family and prying information about hers out of her. The h has some friends that highly encourage the relationship and it seems everyone is trying to marry the h off to the H. He insists he is in love with her relatively quickly but there is actually very few passionate moments in this one.
This story is more about the h loosening her restrictions and boundaries on marriage and family and falling in love with the H. They date, part and then makeup a few times until the H wears her down and her mother realizes that she needs to get over the h's father and the father wanders off into the ether. The h finally admits she loves the H and they decide to marry for the HEA.
This one isn't bad, but it is sorta slow and I am not quite sure I bought the h's conversion. SF does a good job of laying the foundations for an h who doesn't want a committed relationship and I really did not see the fundamental change in the h that would have convinced me that she was really wanting to marry and start a family. The h is the emotionally distant one and while the physical was good for her, I just wasn't feeling the all consuming love. The h's willingness to marry by the end seemed more because SF said so and not because the h meant it.
I do wonder if the h relents more because she does LIKE the H and they are great friends, and also because there is such heavy pressure on her to conform to the marriage and babies standard. I KNOW this is supposed to be a romance, and marriage and babies equals HEA, but I got the overwhelming feeling that maybe SF would have been happier to have her h commit to an affair. The whole last minute half page marriage resolution decision seems forced, rushed and not really in the h's character except she got tired of all the nagging and gave up.
This one isn't special, but it is readable and if you want a low key romance with some interesting character, this one would fit the bill.
The h is a 29 yr old corporate plant and foliage service manager and she comes from a family with a wealthy mum who is tragically in love with the h's father but is also an alcoholic and has been since the h was young. The h's father is a self-centered narcissist and the h's parents have been divorced for the last eleven years. The h never hears from her father, and her mother has been confined to a nursing home for the last five years due to her drinking and very poor health. The h dutifully visits once a week, but neither the mother or the father have ever really cared about the h's welfare, so she has a positive revulsion for marriage, affairs or male/female relationships.
She meets the H, who is an engineering manager while she is refusing the marriage proposal of the guy she has been dating on a platonic level for over a year. The H is flirty and the h is liking him, but really more anxious about deflecting the birthday proposal, so they part ways without the H knowing how to contact her. He knows she has a plant service and gets her name from the maitre d' of the restaurant they were both in the previous evening. He has his secretary place an order for office plants and when the h shows up, he finagles a date with her. Then he whisks her off on the company jet to Montreal, (they are in Toronto.) The h is a bit aggravated at being practically kidnapped, but the H charms her out of it and tells her he wants to get involved with her.
The h doesn't want to be romantically involved, married or have kids and she is pretty blunt about it. The H is persistent tho and he gradually worms his way into the h's life. There are some painful incidents with the h's mother sneaking alcohol and still bemoaning losing the h's father. The h's father makes an appearance too, and when he sends a mink coat for Christmas that the h trades in for a tropical vacation cause she hates it, we see how shallow and distant he is.
The H winds up dragging the h around to meet his family and prying information about hers out of her. The h has some friends that highly encourage the relationship and it seems everyone is trying to marry the h off to the H. He insists he is in love with her relatively quickly but there is actually very few passionate moments in this one.
This story is more about the h loosening her restrictions and boundaries on marriage and family and falling in love with the H. They date, part and then makeup a few times until the H wears her down and her mother realizes that she needs to get over the h's father and the father wanders off into the ether. The h finally admits she loves the H and they decide to marry for the HEA.
This one isn't bad, but it is sorta slow and I am not quite sure I bought the h's conversion. SF does a good job of laying the foundations for an h who doesn't want a committed relationship and I really did not see the fundamental change in the h that would have convinced me that she was really wanting to marry and start a family. The h is the emotionally distant one and while the physical was good for her, I just wasn't feeling the all consuming love. The h's willingness to marry by the end seemed more because SF said so and not because the h meant it.
I do wonder if the h relents more because she does LIKE the H and they are great friends, and also because there is such heavy pressure on her to conform to the marriage and babies standard. I KNOW this is supposed to be a romance, and marriage and babies equals HEA, but I got the overwhelming feeling that maybe SF would have been happier to have her h commit to an affair. The whole last minute half page marriage resolution decision seems forced, rushed and not really in the h's character except she got tired of all the nagging and gave up.
This one isn't special, but it is readable and if you want a low key romance with some interesting character, this one would fit the bill.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2016
The Hero loves the heroine so very much and he is definitely not shy about declaring his feelings or intentions. The heroine has s lot of trust issues stemming from her childhood, so the Hero is hard pressed to overcome these. But he perseveres, despite numerous rejections from her, and wins her heart in the end.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews