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Marrying a Tycoon #1

The Magnate's Tempestuous Marriage

The perfect marriage...? Mining magnate Scott McAllister thinks that inexperienced, biddable Sarah is the perfect wife. Until he's led to believe she's committed the ultimate betrayal! When he confronts her, Sarah's defiant response astounds Scott, sparking a desire to uncover these unseen passionate depths... Sarah is furious Scott believed such lies, but even more furious that her body can't forget the seductive magic of his! The sheer power of their attraction and Scott's pull over her is overwhelming... In this fight to save their marriage, their bed is the ultimate battleground! Unless Scott can persuade Sarah that surrender is more fun with two winners...

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2017

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About the author

Miranda Lee

839 books241 followers
Maureen Mary was born on 1945 at Port Macquarie, a popular seaside town on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, and is the youngest of four children. Her sister was the novelist Wendy Brennan (Emma Darcy). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. When Miranda was ten, her father was transferred to Gosford, another coastal town in the countryside, much closer to Sydney. After leaving her convent school, she briefly studied the cello before moving to Sydney, where she embraced the emerging world of computers. Her career as a programmer ended after she married, had three daughters and bought a small acreage in a semi-rural community. Following this, she attempted greyhound training, as well as horse and goat breeding, but was left dissatisfied.

Miranda yearned to find a creative career from which she could earn money. When her sister suggested writing romances, it seemed like a good idea. She could do it at home, and it might even be fun! It took a decade of trial and error before her first romance, After the Affair, was accepted and published. At that time, Miranda, her husband Tony, and her three daughters had moved back to the Central Coast, where they could enjoy the sun and the surf lifestyle once again. Not long into her writing career, Miranda committed herself to writing a six-book series entitled, The Hearts of Fire, with a deadline of just nine short months. Bravely, her husband left his executive position to stay home and support Miranda’s writing career. He learned to cook and to clean, two invaluable household skills. Numerous successful stories followed, each embodying Miranda’s trademark style: pacy and sexy rhythms; passionate, real-life characters; and enduring, memorable story lines. She has one credo when writing romances: Don’t bore the reader! Millions of fans world-wide agree she never does.

Miranda was the sister of the late author, Emma Darcy.

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5 stars
31 (15%)
4 stars
44 (22%)
3 stars
68 (35%)
2 stars
32 (16%)
1 star
19 (9%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for StMargarets.
3,241 reviews659 followers
December 15, 2017
Bland marriage-in-peril story that is in peril because of the heroine's co-worker was making trouble. The heroine was sent messages to be wary of the hero's PA and the hero got pictures of the heroine eating lunch with a co-worker. Guess who bit?

The hero accuses the heroine of cheating. She leaves. He has second thoughts. They talk it out after a lonely week apart. The co-worker does not get a real comeuppance - in fact the heroine quits her job - so no justice here.

It was that predictable of a story. What I had a hard time believing is that the H/h didn't know basic facts about each other (like the heroine's father cheated on her mother or the hero's mother abandoned him for a hippie commune).

The author tried to drum up some interest in the hero's widowed PA, hinting darkly at a domestic violence backstory, but I'm not feeling compelled to read her story in the sequel to this one.
Profile Image for Raffaella.
2,046 reviews325 followers
September 9, 2021
ML has the bitchiest heroines of all.
This one has been married for one year with the Uber rich H, when he receives some photos of her with one of her colleagues going to a hotel room. He hires a detective and it turns out she actually stayed with him in a room for one hour.
He thinks she cheated on him.
When he comes back home she is very enthusiastic and they make passionate love. Her behavior persuades him she’s acting like that because she feels guilty.
So he accuses her of cheating on him and doesn’t believe her when she tells him she never cheated on him.
The day after they talk and he understands he misjudged her, so he apologizes and asks her to forgive him.
The book ended her for me.
Yes, he was a jerk and he judged before she could explain but then he listened to her and told her he believed her.
She leaves him all the same.
What??? He made a mistake, he apologized and she leaves him? What kind of value have those vow you said when you married???
Then she refuses to even speak to him for one week while she waits to know if she’s pregnant, because if she is she can’t ask for divorce.
I don’t think she loves him.
She was really awful and selfish.
Marriage is made by two people not only one who decides when, what and where.
She had all the power.
She refused any kind of compromise and told him they had to tell always the truth but she kept her pregnancy from him.
That is where I lost her.
Nasty heroine, too good for her hero. That should be the title.
Profile Image for Marianne.
4,722 reviews367 followers
September 5, 2018
The Magnate’s Tempestuous Marriage is the first book in the Marrying A Tycoon series by Australian author, Miranda Lee. After a whirlwind courtship, young lawyer Sarah is married to mining magnate Scott McAllister. But a year later, someone sends Scott an email showing his wife in a hotel with another man. He confronts her with it, but not before he takes her to bed. She’s furious about his lack of trust and walks out. This is a story with way too much breathless, lustful falling into bed when some actual communication would have been a better idea. Neither book in this series is a good example of Lee’s better romance writing. Mediocre.
Profile Image for Rgreader.
734 reviews56 followers
May 6, 2018
The storytelling was underwhelming and the heroine was annoying. Two negatives which overwhelmingly impacted my reading so I dnf'd on page 38. Also, the gay best friend, a trope that's so boring to me. Why not a best friend who's Black, Asian, Muslim or Christian? Or just leave out the obvious activism of LGBTQ and focus on the heroine and hero's journey to hea. I don't read romance for reality anyway. I read it to escape reality.
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,206 reviews568 followers
April 4, 2017
Super angsty and intense read about a marriage in trouble. But it had some problems. The author never told us what the cheating pics showed and the lack of an epilogue! Instead of an epilogue we got an author note telling us the heroine had twins. Awful ending! 3 stars for me!
Profile Image for Fabiola Chenet.
Author 31 books30 followers
February 27, 2018
Rectification: elle n'embrassait pas du tout un inconnu sur les photos. Elle ne faisait rien de plus qu'être en sa présence mais là où le héros a eu un doute, c'est ce qui s'est passé pendant qu'elle était avec cet inconnu

J'ai beaucoup aimé le livre et les héros. Ils ont clairement un problème de confiance car leur relation a été trop rapide. Ils doivent tous les deux faire des efforts même si le héros doit vraiment se faire pardonner.

Les Azur ont vraiment évolué et je m'en suis rendu compte avec ce livre. Miranda Lee est publiée depuis 1990 et voir l'échange en-dessous dans l'histoire m'a fait un "choc"
"Ne soyez pas choquée par ma question, madame McAllister, dit ensuite la généraliste en fronçant les sourcils. Mais votre séparation est-elle dûe à des violences conjugales?
- Oh non! Pas du tout!"
Les violences contre les femmes sont actuellement l'affaire de tous a priori. Livre VO sorti en 2017.
Profile Image for Tonya Warner.
1,214 reviews13 followers
June 3, 2017
Sarah fell for Scott McAllister at first sight. And he fell for her. A whirlwind romance and the married quickly. Maybe too quickly as their first anniversary rolls around, Scott is convinced Sarah has cheated on him. And Sarah is questioning if Scott and his PA might have something going on.

Sarah can not deal with Scott not trusting in her, even though the evidence could be construed as damning. But with her family history, it's more than she can deal with and decides a few weeks away might help her work thru where to go next.

Scott knows once he sits back and takes everything in to account that Sarah would not cheat on him. But she is still working with the man responsible for trying to damage their marriage.

Both Scott and Sarah have secrets that they never shared with the other. And maybe, if the learn to talk to each other, and do more than just the physical, they can find their footing again.
Profile Image for Debra.
3,503 reviews13 followers
October 11, 2017
The Magnate's Tempestuous Marriage

This story has started out with him accusing her of infidelity. She refused to argue and left. This was a sweet story for the most part. When he got his mind cleared out he was able to figure out that they needed to talk. But she had been hurt. So it seems that two hard headed people would have headed to divorce but for people who cared about them. Will they get together? Or will she leave him?
Profile Image for Izzie d.
4,394 reviews377 followers
May 5, 2017
A quick marriage and busy lives leads to a lack of communication so when problems arise they have no foundation to fall back on to keep them together. I did find it refreshing that the hero was not afraid to admit he loved the heroine.
Profile Image for Calysta.
843 reviews8 followers
June 26, 2019
These two people are complete and utter morons. Married for a year and so entirely out of touch and uncommunicative that it took next to nothing for each of them to think the other was cheating. They are shallow, immature idiots.
515 reviews
April 16, 2017
Frustrating book. The type where you think, had they talked any of this out, it wouldn't even had had as much content to cover an entire chapter.
Profile Image for Deborah.
3,015 reviews23 followers
May 7, 2017
I loved the storyline. Yes, both Scott and Sarah have trust issues. Yes, they need to communicate better. It was an enjoyable read.
41 reviews
February 18, 2026
Miranda Lee’s novel was simply amazing — a refreshing and deeply satisfying read. It was such a welcome change to encounter a hero who was only semi-educated, rather than the usual polished billionaire archetype, paired with a heroine who was not only educated but a successful lawyer in her own right. That dynamic alone gave the story texture and authenticity.

Both characters entered the marriage in haste, carrying emotional baggage and unspoken wounds. What could have remained a fragile union, however, was unexpectedly strengthened by outside interference. A particularly villainous colleague of Sarah’s — intent on driving a wedge between them — instead became the unlikely catalyst that forced the couple to confront their misunderstandings. Through conflict, jealousy, and pride, their fractured relationship slowly deepened into something far more resilient and genuine.

The novel did end somewhat abruptly, which at first felt surprising. Yet Lee employed an intriguing device: an author’s note revealing that the hinted pregnancy would result in twins. By doing so, she avoided overextending the narrative and encroaching upon what is clearly material intended for a subsequent book. It was a clever way to reward readers with hope and anticipation without diluting the emotional arc of this story.

Overall, the novel was passionate, layered, and delightfully different — a romance that proves growth and love can emerge even from the most imperfect beginnings.
Profile Image for Mattie.
2,082 reviews10 followers
September 11, 2024
I didn't like it.

The heroine was awful and acted like such a victim for majority of book. What he did wasn't marriage destroying at all or worth even a seperation. She was more in the wrong than him, she for months complained about her marriage to another man and suspected hero of cheating on her with his executive assistant.

She was so mad about him not trusting her while she didn't trust him. She held a grudge so hard and only relented when she suspected she might be pregnant and only planned to consider getting back with him if she was in fact pregnant.

I didn't necessarily like the hero all that much either. He was a a hot head and when a conversation didn't go way he liked he would say that he was done with her and leave.

Their connection was laughable, they were married for a year and knew nothing about each other and apparently didn't even have great sex life before start of book.
While he said he loved her, he did tell her he married her basically because she was a virgin and he knew she wouldn't be his mistress. P.
Profile Image for Biggaletta Day.
259 reviews6 followers
July 5, 2017
Great writing, great hero but annoying heroine. I'm giving it five stars because despite of the irritating heroine, it's an excellent read and I enjoyed it. Miranda Lee is a great story teller! Please read other reviews for balance.

Regarding the heroine, I couldn't stand her demanding & jealous ways and sense of self entitlement. It was like she was manipulating the hero all the time - messing with his mind. This is one of the few books where I thought the hero could do better. Even when Sarah the heroine gives her BIG REVEAL like BACKSTORY or History why she mean and distrustful of Scott, I still didn't buy it. Scott the hero could do much better in my book. So much better.

Still an excellent read, just couldn't stand the heroine. Again, please read other reviews for balance.
921 reviews
September 6, 2018
3.5 stars rated down. The characters grow into their relationship together and have a great HEA. Their chemistry is believable as is the plot. Why rated down?? I am not looking for literary perfection when I read a book but, its sentences like these that put my back up - 'She was twenty five years old. Twenty six this year. Hardly a girl!' page 18 in the Prologue. I love a good romance but I wish authors will give me not just the romance but also some decent literature to give me a great reading experience. Is it too much to expect??
Profile Image for Vonne.
542 reviews18 followers
June 20, 2021
**Actually a 2.5-rating**
Profile Image for RomLibrary.
5,788 reviews
hq-to-read
May 25, 2021
The perfect marriage?

Mining magnate Scott McAllister thinks that inexperienced, biddable Sarah is the perfect wife. Until he's led to believe she's committed the ultimate betrayal! When he confronts her, Sarah's defiant response astounds Scott, sparking a desire to uncover these unseen passionate depths...

Sarah is furious Scott believed such lies, but even more furious that her body can't forget the seductive magic of his! The sheer power of their attraction and Scott's pull over her is overwhelming...

In this fight to save their marriage, their bed is the ultimate battleground! Unless Scott can persuade Sarah that surrender is more fun with two winners..
Profile Image for Bec.
1,665 reviews42 followers
April 9, 2017

Review Posted at HarlequinJunkie.com

Scott and Sarah McAllister had the perfect marriage until both were easily manipulated into believing the other was having an affair. Unable to forgive each other, Sarah decides she can’t handle being around Scott. But when Scott realizes that Sarah is the one woman he can’t live without, will he be able to convince her to move back home, or will they find the bond they once shared is broken forever? Read More
59 reviews1 follower
May 3, 2017
Really good

I loved this story. The characters were great. Though the H was very alpha, and myopic in thinking. He was a straight shooter, but too hasty in his reactions. I really appreciate the strong , no nonsense , but intelligent type. He was not malicious either. The storyline was well played.
35 reviews4 followers
Read
May 24, 2017
most boring book I have ever read. both main characters beyond dull. I would definitely cheated if I was stuck in this marriage.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews