The Pregnancy Bond

by Lucy Gordon

An ihrem achten Hochzeitstag feiert Kelly Harmon eine ganz besondere die Scheidung von ihrem Mann Jason! Jetzt will sie nur noch an die Zukunft denken. Doch plötzlich steht Jason vor ihr. Nach und nach gehen alle Gäste - nur einer Jason …

Genres: Harlequin, Second Chance, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Romance, Hqn, Friends To Lovers

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 2003

About the author

Christine Sparks was born in England, UK. She wanted to be a writer all her life, and began by working on a British women's magazine. As a features writer, she gained a wide variety of experience. She interviewed some of the world's most attractive and interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guiness.

Single life was so enjoyable that she put marriage, and even romance, on the back burner, while she went about the world having a great time. Then, while on vacation in Venice, she met a tall, dark handsome Venetian artist, who changed all her ideas in a moment, and proposed on the second day. Three months later they were married. Her friends said a whirlwind romance would never last, but they celebrated their 25 anniversary, they are still married, still happy and in love.

After 13 years on the magazine Christine decided that it was now or never if she was ever going to write that novel. So she wrote Legacy of Fire which became a Silhouette Special Edition, followed by another, Enchantment in Venice. Then she did something crazy gave up her job. Since then she has concentrated entirely on writing romances for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette and has written over 75 books. Her settings have been European and her heroes mainly English or Italian. Christine now claims to be an expert on one particular subject. Italian men are the most romantic in the world. They are also the best cooks.

A few years ago she and her husband returned to Venice and lived there for a couple of years. This proved the perfect base for exploring the rest of Italy, and she has given many of her books Italian settings: Venice (of course), Rome, Florence, Milan, Sicily, Tuscany. She has also used the Rhine in Germany for Song of the Lorelei, for which she won her first RITA Award, in 1991. Her second RITA came in 1998, with His Brother's Child, set in Rome.

Eventually Christine Fiorotto and her husband returned to England, where they now live. She write and he paints, they have no children, but have a cat and a dog.

Reviews

[Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why people couldn't hate this guy when he almost slept with the OW TWICE.
Look, I don't condone cheating, I am usually very black and white.
But I am willing to act like an adult and tread on the grey side for this book.
I think the MCs needed some breathing space, and if they did, they could've spared themselves the whole drama and the divorce and the potential cheating to begin with. But then, we'll have no book.
I don't even think the hero was really lusting after the OW after reading the whole book. He is an ordinary man whose wife hero-worships him. He's scared shit. It IS a burden, he was scared of failing her and ultimately that's what he does.
Now let's make it clear, as far as cheating goes, he did NOT commit adultery. To be honest not even emotionally because he didn't really give the OW that place in mind. I think he was lusting after her because he could do that without the burden of having the "golden wings".
What made me forgive him and trust in his love was the fact that he couldn't do it because he thought about his wife. If the love for someone stops you from touching someone else, that truly is great love because love and lust is not always the same.
For this guy, clearly it was the same thing, and that belonged to his wife.
The OW clearly WAS a homewrecker, she NEVER cared about his marriage, she wanted him and didn't care who was hurt in the process.
But the MCs, these two loved each other so much that they were ready to let the other one move on with life, even if the very thought itself could kill them.
Jake would have fully accepted the baby as his even if it was biologically not his. He is truly evolved into a very very fair character. No double standard there whatsoever.
And Kelly, stupid stupid sweet woman, basically pushes Jake in the OW's arm and almost kills him in the process. The guilt the sweet woman faced after. For hurting her husband, for not believing him the first time, for all his suffering. But I decided to be with her on this one. Jake did deserve the punishment. It was his penance. And Kelly, even though she practically pushed Jake in the OW's arm, I guess that's the only way she could move on herself.
And Jake, he was completely forgiven by me while reading his thought when he was with the OW the second time. How he could see that in his mind it was the ultimate betrayal, and he could never ever go back and face Kelly if he goes along with it. That is decency, honour and love.
We all make mistakes. The hero in this book is mere mortal. He didn't, couldn't cheat. He paid a huge price for a moment of misguided lust. But it's what he did after, that counts. He changed, he loved his wife more and he fell completely apart in front of the OW, and reached to his wife without caring anything about his image, it was actually endearing, not hero-like at all, but at the same time totally worthy of a hero. A hero who's not afraid to show his weakness to the loved one, and not scared to reach out for help.
And how he spoke his mind, that he was still married to Kelly divorce or no divorce is what I always scream about when I demand celibacy during separation. This guy spoke my mind. He wanted his wife, loved her, wanted the marriage back, therefore he was still married to his wife, and if he slept with the OW, THAT link, would be gone, he wouldn't have ANYTHING valuable to offer to his wife anymore.
I actually cried reading that chapter.
My motto is "F**K cheaters", but I am glad I read this book, he definitely earned his second chance.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third or fourth Lucy Gordon I’ve read and it’s clear she’s a heroine’s author. Her hs are resilient, gracious and strong-willed woman. The Hs are basically nice guys shown to stumble, maybe make wrong choices and the hs help them and accept them back with grace and understanding. I like my hs strong and without bitterness so this was good.

This is quite a realistic take on how marriages really are in real life. Monotony, taking things for granted, self-absorption and growing apart-ruining even the most viable of relationships. I am not a fan of cheating husbands trope –physical or emotional but lately I have read a couple of them and I found myself intrigued, quite like this one.

This story is one of those where the H strays n almost cheats on the h, his wife of 8 years. They got married when quite young. She lets go of her college dreams n taking up dead end jobs leaving him free to build his career as a journalist. As years pile on he leaves her behind mentally, emotionally, intellectually, too busy with his life n career to give her back as much as he takes from her. And then most unforgivably he falls in lust with a colleague of his. She comes to know via his other colleagues as people were already betting on his falling for this ow. He apparently got cold feet at the last moment but then has no way to prove it.

The story actually opens on the day their divorce gets finalized. She is having a divorce-celebration party and he walks in uninvited. She has started college, has her own apartment, new friends, new hairstyle, new clothes. She decides to be friendly and amicable, even pointing out possible hookups for him. Anyways they end up in bed together that night as she decides to celebrate her new life with goodbye sex with her old husband! He goes off on another assignment, gets shot n hospitalized. She ends up taking him to her place as he has no one else to take care of him. So they bond all over again but she accepts him only as a ‘brother’. She is pregnant now btw and doesn’t confirm to him whether he is the father or not. She also has her dishy professor dropping in now and then much to his chagrin and also gives her blessing to his supposed romance with the ow. (This author does the sweetest om btw).

What was totally n freakily different was the last part. She keeps pushing him onto the ow again n again. So much so that he, in pique decides to do just that n take the ow to bed.
So after a date he goes to this lady’s place for a second try but instead of getting turned on goes to pieces and has a nervous meltdown (in a most un-hero like fashion I must say). Somehow he manages to call the h to come and fetch him, who rushes in and ‘rescues’ him. I don’t know if the author meant this scene to be semi comic but it totally had me in splits. Clinical depression, a first in a HP for me, followed for the poor guy. The H is a sweet easy going charmer, is never villainised in the story and you do feel sorry for him on several occasions.

The ending was super sweet and satisfactory. It is a 3 stars book but an extra star for the almost bizarre bits! :)

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly, our heroine, starts out with all the appearance of the usual ttsl Harlequin heroine doormat, but she surprised me. There is one absolutely hysterical scene where she confronts the incredibly smug OW. Any heroine that can say the following is tops in my book...


‘I wouldn’t know. I’m studying archaeology, and just now I’m reading a particularly interesting book on ancient burial practices. There was this king who used to dispose of his surplus concubines by drugging their wine. They passed out, and when they awoke they were swathed in burial bandages and lying in a sarcophagus in a chamber deep underground. Apparently their cries used to echo for a week before they finally died into silence. I think it was a very ingenious way of getting rid of people. Can I offer you a glass of wine?’
Olympia declined, made her excuses and left..


Basic plot - The heroine has had enough of her marriage and is celebrating her divorce when her now ex walks in. Long story short, they celebrate her independence in a fashion that, wait, gets her pregnant.

What made this story so out of the ordinary is the witty exchanges between Kelly and Jake, and to see how their new relationship changes the both of them. Yes, there is growth!

I'm not going to say anymore other than try it; you'll like it.

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so sad and depressed after reading this book! Not annoyed or angry, but depressed. I think I’m going to eat chocolate ice cream all evening to recover... I don’t know where to begin. Jake and Kelly are a divorced couple. She found out that he cheated on her with his boss Olympia and obviously asked for divorce. He didn’t really cheated but wanted to and eventually decided not to because he thought of his wife. They have a one night stand and she falls pregnant, but doesn’t tell him that he’s the father because she doesn’t want him in her life again. He has an accident during his work and she decides to nurse him in her new house, as a friend, but he is in love with her and she’s in love with him so after thousands misunderstandings they are happily together forever. Yuck. There’s no hero here, we have Jake, a less than average man, because I know many average men who are much more decent that he is. Decidedly not an alpha male, decidedly not a male at all. I know women with more testosterone than him. During his marriage he plans to sleep with OW and wants her, and we don’t understand why. Maybe he was tired of his wife, maybe he was bored, poor dear, bu there’s no evidence to justify this behavior, even if cheating is unforgivable in my opinion. Ok he didn’t cheat, but he wanted the OW, that is a as usual a shallow bimbo, and this makes the situation even more unforgivable. Writers of romance, I tell you what: I am a psychologist and all I’ve ever seen is that if a couple has issues cheating is NEVER a solution, on the contrary worsen the issues. Never in my work experience I saw a couple happier after one of the partner cheated. So. In a romance I expect some things: the hero must be attracted only by the heroine, wanting another woman is not allowed. The hero must be brave, strong, and clever. He must fight for his woman. This one not only doesn’t fight for her but let her dictate his dates with OW. Yes she asks him to go out on a date with the OW and he goes even if he is not attracted by her at all. What kind of man is this? He should have told her: woman, I don’t want the OW, I want you, and then he should have kissed her senseless. No, he goes with the OW, tries to seduces her but his body is dead and he has a panic attack. His ex wife must go and fetch him. No, At that point I was ashamed for him. And Kelly, the heroine? I liked her in the beginning bu then I didn’t appreciate that, even if she was in love with her ex she tried to match him with the evil OW instead of fighting for him. They deserve each other. I want to read a romance where the man is a man and he is ready to do everything to keep his woman. Now I am only so so sad.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a realistic and heartfelt depiction of the toll that youth, lack of communication, and work travel separation can have on a young couple. One of the very few books I've read that addressed the communication issues between men and women by acknowledging the "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" issues when the well-meaning husband really just doesn't get what the wife is saying.

I hate infidelity, even where the cheater is impaired (all those cheating husbands who wake up hungover the next day in bed with another woman, surprised by the multiple used condoms). But especially hate it when husband has a premeditated plan to cheat (like Marriage Meltdown) and really desires another woman. It's really surprising to me that I forgave and connected to this hero, after a real betrayal of trust and public humiliation of heroine we hear his thoughts about his overwhelming, almost out of control desire for another woman --he wanted to possess her right there on the floor--that leads him to her hotel room, where he stays long enough for the whole crew to think he cheated...but he is not stopped by circumstance or getting caught by his wife. He is stopped by seeing in his mind his wife's eyes, filled with love, so he doesn't follow through with the other woman. the hero's love and devotion, his vulnerable, practically broken down desperation, to his one true wife becomes itself a character in this story...magnificently done.

This wasn't perfect...probably more medical assistance was needed, and it bothered me that hero was foolish financially. How flawed does this guy have to be? But still a compelling read, Most impressive was the author's ability to combine humor and crackling dialogue with the underlying real depth of pain. And to show vulnerability and even physical frailty in a hero (a Harlequin no-no!) while still making him a desirable man. I wanted their happiness.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK decent reads.
=========================
In my opinion he cheated and cheated emotionally too.
If your husband goes to Paris with another woman, take her out to dinner and then go to a hotel room with the intention of having sex, how would you feel about that.
What do you think?
I would be very angry and would kick his ass.
He was so excited that he considered having sex with OW on the restaurant floor.
He was in total lust.
And the two working together were already emotionally attached.
He just did not go to the end because he drank too much and at the last minute gave up. But they spent hours alone in the hotel room. The colleagues were all witnesses and told our heroine. He denied it, but the OW was ambiguous.
That's why their divorce.
And he kept working with OW until the end of the story.
I liked the heroine, she did not accept resignedly being betrayed and kicked his ass and went ahead enrolling in college, making friends and new apartment. She also changed her look.
The OW in the end took a lesson from our heroine. Liked it.

‘But I always came home to you,’ he observed quietly.

‘Eventually—yes. And I was supposed to be grateful.’

====================

Jake drained his glass and the next Kelly saw he was dancing smoochily with Marianne. She gave him only the briefest glance. The days when she sat on the sideline watching Jake work the room were over.

====================

Our divorce was inevitable from the moment you slept with Olympia Statton.

=====================

‘All right! I went in for reasons I shouldn’t have done, but I changed my mind almost at once. I didn’t want to turn and run like a kid who’d lost his nerve, so I hung around drinking and making excuses to talk. Then I told her I wasn’t feeling well, and left. How was I to know that it was a set-up and the entire damned crew was out there timing me?’

======================

‘Olympia said what you wanted,’ she told Jake now. ‘And later you admitted it, have you forgotten?’

======================

‘I’ve always wondered. What I did know for sure was that I spent my time waiting for you while you took off around the world at the behest of Olympia, who always seemed to have some vital job for you when we had an anniversary or a birthday coming up.’

======================

I almost owe her my career

======================

‘Oh, don’t be a dog in the manger. You were bored to tears with me. You’re just mad because I made the first move to end our marriage—unless, of course, you consider Olympia the first move, which you could—

’
======================

‘Yes, enough to marry me just because I was pregnant,’ she said quietly. She didn’t add what she was thinking, And that was the only reason.

======================

She knew that Jake had returned from wherever he’d dashed off to because she’d opened a newspaper to see a photograph of him, leaving a glamorous media party. Olympia was on his arm, smiling and looking impossibly gorgeous.

=======================

And something else bothered her. Olympia had called her ‘Miss Harmon’. She not only knew that Kelly had resumed her maiden name, but she also knew what it was. And only one person could have told her. Kelly reckoned that said it all.

=======================

Kelly knew that she could never be called high-octane. She doubted that she was even two-star.

=======================

‘She’s been in once or twice, carefully timed for when the cameras were there. Then she complains about “press intrusion”. She’s not exactly chaining herself to his bed. Anyway, what Jake needs now isn’t a lover, it’s a mother or a sister.’

=======================

She’s out networking from dawn to dusk. Besides, I haven’t got enough energy for Olympia just now.’
‘Well, I don’t suppose she’ll be expecting you to— I mean, for a while—’
‘Oddly enough, I didn’t mean that. I meant the whole romantic thing. It makes me feel tired just to think of it.’

========================

‘Give me the key.’
‘You don’t have to bother,’ he said stiffly. ‘I’ve arranged all that.’
She suddenly felt very foolish. Of course Olympia would have done it for him. She probably had the key anyway. How could she have forgotten the real situation?

==============================

Olympia gave the hint of a simper. ‘But a man does change—when he’s in love.’
‘Oh, cut it out, Olympia,’ Kelly said, exasperated. ‘You’re not playing to camera now.’ She spoke sharply to cover the little pain this glamorous woman’s words gave her

================================

‘But of course. Nothing else would have been dignified after he’d shown so clearly that he loved someone else.’
‘Which you denied.’
‘Certainly I denied it. Neither Jake nor I wanted my name bandied about. But the truth is the truth, whatever clever fictions he invented to protect me. Let him go, Kelly. We both know your marriage ended because he wanted to move on.’

===============================

‘He never really has needed me, or anyone. And you’re wrong about Jake. He’s a very strong-minded person.’

===============================

‘No way!’ said the female paramedic with feeling. ‘Now we’ve got rid of him, we’re staying rid.’
‘I once thought the same,’ Kelly muttered. ‘It’s not that easy.’

==============================

Olympia gave Kelly a little lecture on not disturbing him and made a tinkling remark about ‘poor Jake’ being confined in ‘that little rabbit hutch’.

===============================

Carl beamed goodwill. ‘You know, this wife of yours has gotten a bee in her bonnet—’
‘She’s not my wife,’ Jake declared in a flat voice.
Carl beamed at Kelly. ‘That’s right, you’re not,’ he said, with such a pleased inflection that Jake nearly knocked him down on the spot.

===============================

He opened the door to Olympia with a gallant flourish and stood back to let her pass.

===============================

‘But don’t you remember Paris—the night we had dinner together at that restaurant in the Eiffel Tower? That was a special time, wasn’t it?’
He felt awkward. He’d felt awkward then, he remembered.
‘And afterwards you came to my room,’ she reminded him.
‘And got too drunk to go through with it.’

=================================

Hell would freeze over before he admitted to Olympia that after backing away from her bed he’d slept with his ex-wife, possibly fathered her child, but didn’t know because she was keeping him emotionally at arm’s length.

=================================

Olympia kissed him tenderly, as if to say that she understood. He only wished he understood it himself.

=================================

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t there,’ he said quietly.
He wondered if he should explain that he meant when she’d lost the baby, but she immediately picked up his thought.
‘It wasn’t your fault. You got that freelance assignment.

===================================

‘Come on!’ he almost shouted. ‘You know better than that. I put myself first, from start to finish.’

====================================

Any day now he would be ready to leave her and return to the life of success, glitter and Olympia.

==============================

Olympia gave me that one.’
‘Good for her. She’s got better taste than me. She’ll be flattered if you wear it.’

=============================

The restaurant was the most expensive he could find. The wine was the finest in their cellar, the food the most exquisite cordon bleu. Jake had chosen the details with great care because tonight he was finally going to break free.
He didn’t define to himself exactly what, or whom, he was going to break free from. It couldn’t be Kelly, because she denied that any ties bound them together.

===============================

And now here he was, in a restaurant with Olympia, knowing that somehow he had to pass the night in her bed, because just who did Kelly think she was to goad him like that?

============================

She’d looked that way once before, on the night in Paris, when he’d been able to think of nothing but seducing her. He remembered the fierce temptation. If she hadn’t led him to her room when she had he might have seized her and possessed her right there on the floor.

==================================

Olympia’s fingers gently caressed his hand, promising magical things to come.
‘There’ve been so many obstacles keeping us apart,’ she murmured. ‘But we were bound to overcome them. Didn’t you feel that too?’
‘I guess I did. I haven’t had a clear head for a long time—’/

====================================

‘Being trapped in that place with the “little woman” fussing over you, never giving you any peace.’
‘The little woman is usually too busy with her college work to fret about me,’ he said wryly.
‘That’s what she lets you think, but you know what she’s really after, don’t you?

===================================

He pulled himself together and seized the champagne bottle. ‘Have a little more champagne, darling. You’re looking glorious tonight.’
She gave him the serene, self-confident smile of a goddess accepting tribute, and squeezed his hand.

==================================

He had a feeling of moving through a dream as they toasted each other in champagne and left the restaurant, finding a cab at once. As they sat in the back Jake tried to pull himself together. A man who’d made a decision should get on with it, without hassle. He took her into his arms and she melted against him, all fragrant femininity. How cold her lips were, he thought. He could feel his heart pounding and tried to believe that this was passion, but somehow it didn’t feel right. The lights outside the cab seemed to be whirling past at a tremendous rate. He crushed Olympia to him, pressing his lips against hers in an attitude of urgency.

====================================

‘Come with me,’ she murmured against his mouth. ‘I’m going to make this a really special occasion.’
She unzipped her dress and allowed it to fall to the ground.

==================================

After this there would be no way back to Kelly—no way back—
Suddenly Jake felt himself falling. He clutched the wall and stared about him, wondering where he was, and what he was doing here with this woman.

===================================

Jake, whatever’s the matter? Are you ill?’

‘I don’t know,’ he gasped. ‘I’m at Olympia’s apartment—can you come here—please come—I want to get home and I can’t—’ He was heaving for breath again.

==================================

I haven’t forgotten the important things,’ he said, still in the same harsh voice. ‘Divorce or no divorce, Kelly is still my wife, and she always will be.’

================================

‘Mind about her? What for? She’s no threat to my marriage. Sorry, Olympia, but the truth is the truth, even when it hurts.’
‘I think you’d better leave,’ Olympia said through clenched teeth.
‘Glad to,’ Kelly said promptly, slipping her hand through Jake’s arm. ‘I’m sorry you two gentlemen were called out for no reason. Ready, darling?’
‘One moment before you go,’ Olympia said acidly, vanishing into the bedroom. She returned a moment later and held out her hand, bearing Jake’s cufflinks. ‘Don’t forget these.’
‘Thank you,’ Kelly said, taking them. She met her gaze. ‘Poor Olympia,’ she said softly.
The murderous look in the other woman’s eyes provided one of the great moments of her life.

===================================

‘I was going to take her to bed,’ he said bluntly, ‘but I couldn’t. There was nothing there for her. Nothing. Just like last time.’

======================================

‘And people are supposed to just hang about indefinitely, waiting for you to be man enough to start work again?’ demanded Olympia, letting her temper get the better of her caution.
‘Man enough?’ He savoured the words slowly.

====================================

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

The highly rated reviews make very, very good and heartfelt points about why this story works despite divorce, cheating, etc. However, for me, personally, I don't feel it would work. The husband tries it on with the OW not once, but twice. Give me a besotted, mine-mine-mine, obsessed hero ANY DAY over a wishy-washy mess who doesn't know who or what he wants out of life.

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one snuck up on me. I thought it was kind of predictable at first. The hero was glib, the heroine was certain of her grievances. But then they turned into real people. What got me the most, besides the hero having a panic attack and going into a deep depression realizing just what he had lost - was the heroine looking at their wedding picture and seeing how young they were and finally realizing just how much the H always loved her.

This might be called the Pregnancy Bond - but the pregnancy is not what binds them. The initial love they had when they were stupid hormonal kids has grown and deepened by the paces the author put them through. It was lovely to watch.

[*CJ* · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Pregnancy Bond" is the story of Kelly and Jake.

**MILD SPOILER FILLED RANT AHEAD**

Hmm..

Honestly, mixed feelings about this one.

The book begins on the day our couple's divorce is finalized, and the h is giving a divorce party- inviting all the people from the college she recently enrolled in, and celebrating her bittersweet freedom from her absent and adulterous husband of 8 years. Things take a turn, when the aforementioned shows up, and soon arguments mixed with pent up lust lead to a "final" night of passion.
Months go by, until the hero is shot on the assignment he is reporting on. The bitchy OW/H's boss tries to keep them away, but the h rushes to the H- only to realize a) she's pregnant b) he needs help and she might need to house him c) he does not know for sure the paternity of the baby.
Soon the hero moves into the h's new home, and they begin this weird brother-sister relationship but also with sexual feelings, and encouraging, while being jealous of each other being with OM/OW respectively.

So first, the positives.
I liked how the heroine was able to escape the controlling hero and marriage, finally take over the reigns and spread her wings. Her backtalk to the OW, and calling the hero out about his callous and inconsiderate behavior throughout the marriage made me root for her. In the ideal world, she would dump the hero, spread her wings, and fly away with her baby.

My biggest problem in this was the gross feeling the H's confession left me with. So he globe-trotted around the world. So he didn't care much about his wife even after her first miscarriage. So he kinda controlled her, turning her into this complacent, timid woman. But to confess that you went to OW wanting to sleep with her, but couldn't go through with it because you finally remembered you were married? ASSHOLE. And, again- you suspect the baby is yours right? But when your ex pushes you onto OW, you are almost ready to sleep with her (they reach point of stripping post kissing) until your mind and body shut down. ARGH.

The only reason this isn't a one star is because of the tragic mental breakdown the hero suffers, and we discover a few secrets about him too. Then the book proceeds to have a dramatic, but sweet HEA.

Finally, I love my heroes loyal. I like them to spurn OW off and not get tempted. To err maybe to human, but not in my ideal hero's world. Just no.

Rant over.

SWE
2/5

[Sruthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is lovable , different in a good way and I had a good time reading , will be reading more Lucy Gordon for sure , this is my first .

Kelly and Jake are married for 8 years , now Jake is back on their divorce party . Jake is shocked to see the new Kelly who is definitely not his Kelly . And he is definitely not happy with divorce but he can't stop her from having her freedom . And Kelly celebrates her new found freedom with her old husband .

Jake is shot and hence hospitalised , soon Kelly is nursing him and that is when she realises she is pregnant with her ex-husband's child . Jake though doubts about the father , will not pressurise her to admit that its his child and lets her go . Jake is now lodger in Kelly's guest room and they are like a family , He is supporting her, taking care of her , attending those parenting classes with her but he doesn't know its his child . This is why I loved most , its not all about sleeping together , There is a strong bond and I loved how they could read each other's thoughts . This is definitely worth rereading .

[reeder (reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to like this one. I tried twice.

I think Lucy Gordon did a wonderful job retroactively revealing how the heroine's teenage hero-worship colored her view of the hero, who had been a much more awkward youth than her initial perspective allowed the reader to see. Four stars for the moment the heroine looks at their wedding photograph and sees the young man he had been through her more mature eyes.

The problem is, Gordon saves that reveal for the penultimate chapter when the couple are virtually reconciled already due to the hero's breakdown and she never explicitly hooks it back into the many examples of him being a very bad husband over seven long years, including the very recent infidelity that led to the divorce.

Yes, even though he didn't sleep with the OW, I'm calling Paris cheating. In the hero's own words, we learn that

on the night in Paris...he'd been able to think of nothing but seducing her. He remembered the fierce temptation. If she hadn't led him to her room when she had he might have seized her and possessed her right there on the floor.

Sure, when they get to the hotel room, thoughts of his loving wife intrude, but the impetus and intent to cheat were there. If they'd been at a nightclub that evening instead of at a fancy restaurant, I'm thinking wallbang and goodbye, deniability.

My negative reaction to that vivid memory is exacerbated by the fact that the hero continued to work closely with the OW during the divorce proceedings and after the divorce, when he's supposedly (secretly) attempting a reconciliation. This demonstrates the same thoughtlessness that characterized the hero's behavior throughout their marriage.

1. Does the infidelity serve as a catalyst to surface an overlooked/unresolved issue that has always been present in the relationship?

For the heroine, yes. Her husband cheating on her is the push she needed to leave a marriage where she was censoring her own concerns and needs for fear of disrupting the relationship...which was all about him.

For the hero, no. The push to be less of a selfish ass doesn't come until he gets shot on assignment.

2. Is the cheater's contrition genuine?

Yes. The unfortunate thing is that Gordon has inextricably tied his most profound emotional moment -- the panic attack in the OW's apartment, when the hero recognizes that if he goes through with this "there would be no way back to [his wife]--no way back" -- to the post-traumatic stress from his injury. He needed to be physically and psychologically devastated by something other than the loss of his wife before he could express his feelings over the loss of his wife.

3. Does the cheater gain insight into his actions that will prevent the behavior from recurring?

Yes, but again, because of the gunshot wound, not because of the cheating.

I realize it may seem as if I'm splitting hairs, but the emotional impact of the cheating all falls on the wife, and in a romance where cheating takes place, it's important to me that both protagonists have a reaction to it. This hero simply does not, preferring his comfortable fiction that no sex = no cheating. He has a (belated) response to the heroine's reaction, spurred by a life-threatening injury. And that is simply a less compelling story for me.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

On Kelly’s 8th wedding anniversary she has a party to celebrate her divorce from Jake Lindley, star reporter, and plans on getting on w/ all her hopes and dreams for her future. Kelly thought that Jake had always wanted his freedom from her and that he had only married her because she was pregnant. However, she later lost the child and he continues to gallivant off on locations around the world for his job, but the last straw was the belief that Jake had taken up w/ OW. Jake was surprised that she went through w/ the divorce. She believes he slept w/ OW he claims he did not! Was a set up went in for reasons he shouldn’t have done (never discussed as to why he thought he should either), had second thoughts, but stuck around getting drunk and then left but the film crew was there timing him – which means that someone told them and yet he continued to work w/ this OW. Apparently Jake was determined to make a divorce easy for her, Kelly, so why does he show up anyway? He truly believed that she would drop it I suppose. The OW was a POW and I have a hard time believing that Jake was that oblivious to her machinations given how often he was sent off on assignments on or about special occasions in his r/s w/ Kelly.

Felt more like Kelly needed to grow up and realize that she could still fulfill her dreams as well in this r/s and Jake needed to respect his wife more and not take advantage of her so much. Kelly and Jake come together for that one-time-thing, you know what happens, and Jake worries that Kelly may have gotten some lessons from another guy on the scene – when in fact she has finally come into her own!

Jake wakes up to what he could have lost, changes his ways, and starts putting her first even at the detriment of his own health. Jake is pretty unsure of who left her w/ that and goes through the story w/ that standpoint but he still wants her back. These two should have shared more together and there wouldn’t have been a story to tell, but I liked how they evolved and even seen the potential pitfalls of falling into the same trap again so they avoided them. I loved how some of the dialogue went w/ the actions w/out the actions being portrayed as in you knew she walked out in the middle of a sentence from him when he is yelling her name.

I wondered how he walked out on her-that wasn’t explained very well. When did he attempt to “seduce” the OW, and why? Why did he want to sleep w/ this OW? It made it sound like he wanted OW so bad he was willing to partake of her on the restaurant floor! It is mentioned that Jake had set out to “seduce” the OW, yet later the story talks as though the OW had set out to “seduce” him and it didn’t play out well. Therefore the OW wouldn’t be too keen to forgive two failed attempts of secution. If Kelly was so important to his world, i.e. the center of his world, then why would he even want to hurt her by taking up w/ this OW? That didn’t make a lot of sense. I didn’t find the motivation for his thoughts on bedding OW either.

Other than those few hanging questions, the story was a decent read and I liked that they both woke up to one another’s needs. Him more so, but she learned to stop letting her own needs fall by the wayside as well.

[Megzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Jake had any idea how much he loved his wife until he was going through the second attempt of having sex with the OW, when he had an anxiety attack. The doctor believed his depression was due to his physical injury, I think it was more than that. It was looking at the mirrors at the OW home, seeing his own face and comprehending how single handedly he caused his world to fall a part the first time around and what the end result would be as far as his relationship with his very pregnant ex-wife if he finishes what he started... An empty world.

I was proud of Kelly for walking out of his life and getting a divorce. There is little to no difference between physically cheating or an emotional affair which is what he had with the OW for a longtime before he attempted to go through the physical part the first time around. Yes he stopped once he got to her hotel room but the damage as far as I am concern was done. The trust which is so fragile was broken in his marriage. I was happy to find a book that allowed the wife to move on with her life. I even understood why she didn't tell him who the father of her baby was. He used to be a selfish husband and he needed to realize the ramification of all his actions through out their marriage. He put his needs always first no matter what they were. I don't think I would have rated this book this high, if he did not go through the full fledged physical and emotional breakdown. It made him feel human. His groveling was perfection and it helped in accepting her decision to forgive him and the HEA.

[Zubee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story and h make for 4 stars ... H is a mess and I don't care how many times he said that he didn't do anything with the OW; just the fact that he went there with her said it all; he had full intentions of sleeping with OW while still married to h ... And no matter how he suffered and loved the h, no doubt that he took her for granted ...
I did love the fact that all his high flying was for nothing; ultimately he was a loser who needed the h in order to function like a normal human being while she survived marriage to him where she felt unloved and uncared for and she survived and thrived after her divorce ...

[Lidia's Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Marriage in Trouble
Divorced Couple
Second Chance Romance

I judge books by their covers. Guilty as charged. If it wasn't for my GR friends' reviews and the other top community reviews, I would have missed out on this book. I dislike the cover immensely. It only piqued my interest because it was on a friend's shelf.

Now that I've read the story, I realize the title doesn't do it any justice either. There's so, so much more to their relationship.

I can't believe this is a Harlequin because it didn't give me that vibe at all. It felt different from the other Harlequin romances I've read. One thing is for sure, what I got was not what I had been expecting. Due to the themes in the book I thought it would be, for the most part, an emotional read, perhaps even heartbreaking. It wasn't. In fact, it almost felt like a romantic comedy with some emotional parts. I was completely swept away. I loved Kelly and Jake's interactions. The banter was fantastic. Jake won me over immediately, he was so charming and charismatic. It's the first time I read about a hero who's a journalist, a tv news reporter with a huge following, a celebrity status.

"Jake Lindley was a hero, a handsome, hard-bodied, daredevil, sexy icon of the media age, with keen eyes and a wicked smile that said, 'come hither' to every red-blooded woman within radius." Le sigh. "But he'd broken Kelly's heart and she was well rid of him." Good for you, Kelly!

I was praying to the book Gods this one wouldn't disappoint me halfway through, which seems to be the trend for me lately. It didn't disappoint. I came for the grovel and an awesome grovel I got. Jake’s character growth was well written. At the end, he certainly redeems himself. I also found some aspects of their relationship relatable. Like how they didn't communicate on the same level. Makes me think of the saying, 'Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.'

Jake: "I never could follow when you talked like that. I'm a plain man and I see things plainly."

This is why I often tell my husband, 'You're such a man.' Sadly, he takes this as a compliment and retorts, 'Why, thank you.' Ugh

My Gripes:
In regards to the infidelity, there were a few things I felt were unresolved or unclear. I read this in one seating during the wee hours of the night, so perhaps at one point I went cross-eyed and missed the part where Jake explains why he even considered cheating. I might go back and reread some parts because I'm still perplexed about his motive and what actually happened between him and the other woman. Although he never had sex with her, I still saw it as cheating. I wouldn't consider it emotional cheating, though.

Note to Self: this is a must reread

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Започнах да свиквам с малоумните заглавия на Арлекин. Тук драмата е на ниво, и започва с парти. Кели прави парти по повод развода си, влязъл в сила преди няколко часа. Като неочакван гост се появява бившият и съпруг, военен кореспондент, който заявява, че в края на краищата това е и неговият развод, и има пълно право да празнува с нея. И тъй като това е Романсландия, двамата са едва в началото на пътя си обратно един към друг. Много приятно разказано.

3,5⭐️

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Gordon gloriously reminded me this amazing proverb: “You can’t have the cake and eat it too!” ;) Did you hear Jake Lindley? Lol

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

He almost cheats but doesn't. I didn't like the h so much. she annoyed me. Too feminist or something. And she kept pushing him away. I felt bad when he tried to have sex with threshold OW but couldn't and had a panic attack. The h rescues him. I was mad that he went to the OW room while on assignment but nothing happened I guess. He says they drank some more is all and he left and I want to believe him. By the way I hated the description of her at her party in a jumpsuit. I hate jumpsuits. You. Lol

[Kace | The Booknerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books with a cheating theme is a big no-no for me. I usually immediately chuck the book when infidelity begins to show itself. But as the saying goes "there is an exception to every rule", and this book was for me. It has everything that keeps me turning the pages even though the hero seemed to engage in a carefully premeditated plan to cheat and thought about the other woman the way he shouldn't have. I wouldn't say I like that. But it wasn't surprising that I forgave the hero immediately. I loved how the author showed us the hero's growth from being so shallow and full of himself to this vulnerable, lovable, and caring human being. I loved how he bared his heart to his one true wife. It was perfectly done!

[Roub · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was absolutely disgusted dat jake cud contemplate adultery bcoz OW was so gorgeous! he was then disturbed kelly asked for a divorce bcoz he did not follow the act. i think intentions are as condemnable as the actual actions. they were not madly in love, they had surpassed dat stage but they still love each other. i actually enjoyed the book a lot bcoz it was fun. it cud have been heartbreaking but jake was not a cruel hero. he was actually a very nice man and was careful not to hurt his wife. he really loved her and he had no great passion for OW. he was just at a stale point in his personal life and i guess, annoyed at their attempts to make a baby which did not make sex very exciting.

[Fiona Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I've always said I love a reunion story. This is an interesting one, starting as it does on the night the heroine is celebrating her divorce. Jake Linley married Kelly when they were both quite young, him a brash young reporter and her barely out of school due to an unexpected pregnancy.

The strains of his job and her loss of self esteem over losing the baby and having to put aside her dreams of university to make a go of their marriage when Jake was only starting out, took a toll on their marriage. When it seems that Jake has cheated on her, Kelly decides enough is enough and sues for divorce.

Jake never really believed she would go through with the divorce and is thrown off balance when he arrives in the midst of the celebrations to find Kelly living large with a bevy of men at her beck and call. Nevertheless it is Jake who she finishes the night with before sending him off with well deserved thanks for the best night of goodbye sex. It was time to get on with her life.

Until she sees Jake wounded on television and comes to the hospital to see him. Jake is a changed man. Gone is the cocky self confident reporter. It is a long hard road to recovery and when he realises Kelly is pregnant he is determined to make everything up to her. The sacrifices she made to help him on his career path hang over him as he sees her pregnancy about to cost her the chance to make the new life she's chosen, studying for her degree.

Kelly's independance is rocked by the pregnancy but when she sees Jake's pain and is reminded of how alone he is she allows him to move in. She would keep an eye on him as he recuperates and he would pay rent to enable her to live and study.

As they interact over the next months we see them learning more about each other. Kelly's doubts about whether Jake ever truly loved her are still a barrier and it takes a whole lot of things, including Jake's emotional collapse from depression, to awaken her to the true nature of their bond with each other.

This is really a very interesting story with a hero who while appearing alpha is very far from perfect in some ways. But he is a wonderful hero who deserves his second chance. I very much enjoyed watching both of them grow and change and learn to see each others reality.

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 4 out of 5]

The growth of the Hero is quite interesting - from shallow to caring. I wish the depression angle had been more fleshed out.

[shms · Rating 3 out of 5]

IMO the redemption of the hero was where the emphasis of the book lay and to a large part it succeeded.

[BAG of Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelly (26) and Jake (32) married 8 years ago when Kelly was pregnant at 18. She ended up miscarrying and wasn’t able to get pregnant again. Now they are divorced.

Jake wasn't home most of their marriage because he’s a journalist covering foreign wars. So, there wasn't much of a marriage anyway.

His producer, Olympia, is the ambitious, educated kind of woman that Kelly isn't. Kelly always worried Jake would cheat with Olympia. Olympia obviously wants him for herself. One night, he was caught by paparazzi coming out of Olympia's hotel room, which led to the divorce. He says he didn't sleep with Olympia, but admits he went there intending to cheat but changed his mind. He thinks if Kelly believed he didn’t have sex with Olympia, she wouldn’t have divorced him. I personally think that’s a weird viewpoint, I would still divorce him.

Anyway, he shows up at Kelly’s apartment and crashes her divorce celebration party. She really is over him, she’s not devastated to see him, she’s just annoyed that he cock blocked her from her male guests. He falls asleep on her couch. He wakes up after the party is over, and they have sex. Their married sex life was boring apparently, because this is the first time they do cowgirl, after being married for 8 years! Jake really likes the “new Kelly.”

He leaves for another assignment the next morning, and Kelly thinks they’ll never see each other again. Then Jake gets shot on camera reporting on another war. By the time she’s able to see him, he’s ready to leave the hospital. But he has no family and no one to look after him. Olympia doesn’t seem like she wants to bother helping him. Kelly doesn’t want to do it because they just got divorced, she’s busy going back to college, and he’s not her responsibility anymore.

Then Kelly runs into his hospital bathroom and throws up, and Jake figures out she’s pregnant. But she won’t confirm who the father is. He thinks she found all this new sexual freedom, so he doesn’t assume he’s the father but thinks he might be. Either way, they strike a deal, he will rent a room in her house so she doesn’t have to work while pregnant, and she will look after him while he convalesces.

She didn’t sleep with anyone else before the divorce was final, but she doesn’t tell him because she had baby trapped him once before, and she doesn’t want to do the same thing to him again, so she’s avoiding the topic.

This isn’t your typical tyrannical Alpha hero who decides she’s going to be “mine.” While they’re living together, he’s actually very polite. And all the things she was insecure about before, like him sleeping with Olympia, she just doesn’t care anymore. They get along great. The banter is very entertaining.

She becomes friends with her professor, Carl, who comes from a large family full of babies, so they talk about pregnancy and baby stuff. Jake wonders if she slept with Jake (after the divorce) when she was already pregnant with Carl’s baby. He doesn’t ask.

They have some closure conversations. He says he realizes what a shitty husband he was. He was always selfish. He never gave her anything she wanted or needed.

Then Jake ends up getting an infection and nearly dying, and Kelly is stopped by the paramedics just as she’s about to say, “I love you.” But once that’s cleared up, he comes back from the hospital and he has nearly recovered, and there are no more of those personal conversations.

He goes on a date with Olympia, but this time Kelly is very upset, not like before when she didn’t care, but she acts like she doesn’t care. He plans to go through with it this time and sleep with Olympia, to close the Kelly chapter of his life for good. But when the moment arrives, he has a panic attack and calls Kelly to come get him. He doesn’t really want to do anything that would make reconciliation impossible.

Kelly arrives and takes him home, and he’s gone into a depression (which the doctor predicted would be part of recovering from being shot), so she keeps nursing him back to health through that.

She finally believes he didn’t have sex with Olympia the first time, just like this time. I don’t know why that makes a difference to her, but it does. He tells her he’s always loved her, he wasn’t famous when they met and she helped his career by believing in him, etc. The night he crashed her divorce party, he was hoping to get there in time to stop the divorce, but it had been signed that morning, and he was too late. She tells him she wants to reconcile and that the baby is his.

There’s zero discussion about why he wanted to cheat on Kelly with Olympia (before the divorce), if he loved her so much.

He doesn’t want to go back to working in a war zone, so Kelly encourages him to write his memoirs. That means he won’t work with Olympia anymore. It’s a win-win.

The baby is born right at the end.

[Pravana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one.

What makes this book different from the usual run of the mill -

1) The Hero is not a billionaire / millionaire at the beginning and neither does he magically become one by the end of the book.

2) The Hero is shot and, his recovery, unlike most M&B Heroes, is slow, prolonged and protracted. I liked that unlike most other stoic superheroes, this one struggles to recover and is forced to accept it.

3) Generally in M&B’s it’s the Heroines who are shown to be affected by any kind of Mental health issues.. In what is probably a first or rarity, we have the Hero who’s diagnosed as suffering from CLINICAL DEPRESSION! There’s no brushing it under the carpet or alluding to it after it’s over. We actually get to read about the everyday struggles of the Hero as he climbs his way out of the deep well of darkness that he’s sunk into.

4) And finally we have the element of cheating……. There are a lot of lovely reviews out there with great in-depth analysis about the Hero and his cheating!!!! If one wants to be factual, there are 2 instances of “cheating” and I appreciate how the author has spun the story out in such a way, that makes you want to forgive the Hero for his transgressions and see grey areas where cheating is concerned.

[MissKitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG! This is so emotional.. be prepared.

I loved the main characters, they were good loving people, but they couldn’t communicate properly.

I loved how strong the heroine was but I hated her magnanimity... why did she shove the Hero into the arms of the OW, that went on too long.

I loved how the main couple re-connected with each other and the new relationship they developed.

I loved the Hero he was a real person. It’s realistic that married couples get tempted by the opposite sex, especially when the other is out to seduce, but it takes strength of character to resist. The Hero did resist her both times, but why did he allow the OW to act like she owned him... he knew she already destroyed his marriage the first time. I hated that there was so much OW page time.

It’s a lovely story because despite it all, they overcome in the end and have a stronger, more mature relationship. Their HEA is hard won and that much more believable for it.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story. It was quick and kept me entertained.

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise and opening was promising, but didn’t reach its potential.

[Nique · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was confusing in some parts. I didn’t really feel like the story flowed that well and the part where the h. Also the H referred to each other as brother and sister even though they had been married and she was pregnant with his child which just felt weird.

[Nerissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

started off good but not sure what happened, it just lost momentum? The emotions were stunted? Just really odd developments. There was no jealousy from her which was strange. His break down wasnt readable - just weird. I think the author was torn between trying to describe depression and PTSD but it was delayed... Just didnt flow right with emotions. Dragged massively in some places, in others emotions which should have been intense were flat or non existence and in others they were weird/big but missing the mark.

Just no.
3.0 plot - was not a bad plot. Apart from the weird jumping about, could have been a great story.
2.0 characters - could have been great MC's but the emotions just didnt work therefore making the MC's unrealistic and just weird. Secondary characters were not developed well.
1.0 sex scenes - fell way short. Were not complete. When i read the first kissing scene which lead to sex i was thinking this is great but then fizzled so massively.
1.5 angst - what a shame, had the potential and plot to make this good but fell badly short
2.0 writing - again had potential but fell so short. just all over the shop. emotions badly written. A lot of stuff didnt make sense.
2.0 ow drama - could have been great but most of it didnt make sense.