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Tall, Dark & Sexy #1
The Billionaire's Virgin Bride
As a lawyer, Zeke Russell is second to none; dynamic and driven, he always wins. So when his ex-fianc?Melody Taylor asks for his help, he takes his chance to settle an old score!Melody didn't think she would ever have to see Zeke again, but now she has no choice but to swallow her pride and accept his rekindle their relationship-though this time it's on his terms! However, there's one thing Melody is determined to make sure she will never surrender….
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Helen Brooks
421 books123 followersRita Bradshaw was born on 1949 in Northampton, England, where she was educated as a good Christian. She met Clive, her husband, at the age of 16 andnow the magic is still there. They have three lovely children, Cara, Faye, and Benjamin, and have always had a menagerie of animals in the house, which at the present is confined to two endearing and very comical dogs who would make a great double act on TV! The children, friends, and pets all keep the house buzzing and the food cupboards empty but Helen wouldn't have it any other way. She still lives today in Northampton with her family. Although having enjoyed some wonderful holidays abroad she has never been tempted to live anywhere else, although she rather likes the idea of a holiday home close to the sea one day.
Being a committed Christian and fervent animal lover she finds spare time is always at a premium, but long walks in the countryside with her husband and dogs, meals out followed by the cinema or theatre, reading, swimming, and having friends over for dinner are all fitted in somehow. She also enjoys sitting in her wonderfully therapeutic, rambling old garden in the sun with a glass of red wine, (under the guise of resting while thinking of course!)
For years, she was a secretary. She began writing in 1990 as she approached that milestone of a birthday 40! She realized her two teenage ambitions (writing a novel and learning to drive) had been lost amid babies and hectic family life, so set about resurrecting them.
Her first novel was for Mills and Boon and was accepted after one rewrite in 1992 as Helen Brooks, and she passed her driving test (the former was a joy and the latter an unmitigated nightmare!) She has written 50 novels as well as several sagas as Rita Bradshaw.
Since becoming a full-time writer she has found her occupation one of pure joy and often surprised when her characters develop a mind of their own but she loves exploring what makes people tick and finds the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction" to be absolutely true. She would love to hear from any readers care of Mills & Boon.
Being a committed Christian and fervent animal lover she finds spare time is always at a premium, but long walks in the countryside with her husband and dogs, meals out followed by the cinema or theatre, reading, swimming, and having friends over for dinner are all fitted in somehow. She also enjoys sitting in her wonderfully therapeutic, rambling old garden in the sun with a glass of red wine, (under the guise of resting while thinking of course!)
For years, she was a secretary. She began writing in 1990 as she approached that milestone of a birthday 40! She realized her two teenage ambitions (writing a novel and learning to drive) had been lost amid babies and hectic family life, so set about resurrecting them.
Her first novel was for Mills and Boon and was accepted after one rewrite in 1992 as Helen Brooks, and she passed her driving test (the former was a joy and the latter an unmitigated nightmare!) She has written 50 novels as well as several sagas as Rita Bradshaw.
Since becoming a full-time writer she has found her occupation one of pure joy and often surprised when her characters develop a mind of their own but she loves exploring what makes people tick and finds the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction" to be absolutely true. She would love to hear from any readers care of Mills & Boon.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 29, 2021
The title is the worst part of the book.
Actually the hero is a lawyer, billionaire or not is never told and it’s not important.
And yes, she’s a virgin but this is not the main focus of the book.
Which is a very mature and very sensible book.
The heroine was engaged with the hero six months ago, her mother showed her some pictures of him with his stunning new PA in Paris together and she left him, thinking he was cheating on her.
She didn’t even give him the chance to explain and didn’t believe him at all.
Her father left her mother for other women, after cheating on her repeatedly for years, and her mother attempted suicide when h was 4. Afterwards she became a man hater and so she conveyed her insecurity and doubts to her daughter, trying to protect her but actually ruining her life and her love story with the H.
The hero, who was really in love with her for the first time in his life, was hurt but didn’t stop loving her.
When she asks him to help his mother he decides to date her again.
At first he doesn’t know why he wants to see her again since she hurt him very much and seems still not to believe him, he’s angry and resentful, but after a couple of date, when she apologizes and tells him she believes him, he asks her to try again, this time a little more slowly and carefully because now it’s him who doesn’t trust her.
It’s all very mature and the only thing lacking is passion, not in a physical sense, but as an overwhelming power that pushes a person towards his/ her loved one ( and it’s necessary in the beginning of a relationship to overcome the unavoidable doubts, fears, disappointments that will follow)
Yes he’s in love, but he’s afraid to trust her again and until the end he tells her that she must overcome her doubts and trust him unconditionally.
Yes man, you may be right, but there’s something I don’t agree here.
-In the beginning of a relationship I agree that a person must be madly in love with the partner, this is what makes the relationship go on.
- being madly in love means that a person sees his partner with altered sight, projects on him/her his feelings, hopes, dreams of ideal love.
- it’s ok to have trust just as respect and regards for the loved one, but those are feelings that grows with time, and in the beginning of a relationship they are fragile and destined to be- very often- disappointed.
-so it is ok that sometimes the trust you have in the beginning of a relationship is not so deep as after 10 years of marriage.
-imagine if you see your fiancée of one week that you ve been dating for 6 months pictured with a stunning woman who he chose as his PA, smiling, wining and dining her, in Paris. Won’t you be suspicious? It’s very normal to be jealous and have doubts, and if a woman has a past as the heroine is really probable that she acts like the heroine did.
- he made a mistake not telling her that he replaced his old PA with a beautiful young woman that is also, like we understand in the end, a man eater. It could be reassuring for her knowing how he saw ow. He didn’t tell her and expected her to trust him. Blindly. Big mistake man, it was too soon.
- he was hurt because he loved her, but I would like to know if the opposite happened how he would react.
So I expected a little more enthusiasm on his part, he was too cold and sensible and refused to believe her and expected that she trust him unconditionally in the future.
It doesn’t work this way.
Trust must be gained. And it takes time and help by both parts.
Anyway it was a good book, low angst level and safe because both were celibate during their separation.
I found it so different from usual presents because it was very sensible and the hero was not alpha in my opinion, but a great guy anyway, patient and caring.
Eventually he understands that he will have to be patient with her and help her overcome her fears, because they won’t disappear in a day just because he wants it. This was really moving.
Actually the hero is a lawyer, billionaire or not is never told and it’s not important.
And yes, she’s a virgin but this is not the main focus of the book.
Which is a very mature and very sensible book.
The heroine was engaged with the hero six months ago, her mother showed her some pictures of him with his stunning new PA in Paris together and she left him, thinking he was cheating on her.
She didn’t even give him the chance to explain and didn’t believe him at all.
Her father left her mother for other women, after cheating on her repeatedly for years, and her mother attempted suicide when h was 4. Afterwards she became a man hater and so she conveyed her insecurity and doubts to her daughter, trying to protect her but actually ruining her life and her love story with the H.
The hero, who was really in love with her for the first time in his life, was hurt but didn’t stop loving her.
When she asks him to help his mother he decides to date her again.
At first he doesn’t know why he wants to see her again since she hurt him very much and seems still not to believe him, he’s angry and resentful, but after a couple of date, when she apologizes and tells him she believes him, he asks her to try again, this time a little more slowly and carefully because now it’s him who doesn’t trust her.
It’s all very mature and the only thing lacking is passion, not in a physical sense, but as an overwhelming power that pushes a person towards his/ her loved one ( and it’s necessary in the beginning of a relationship to overcome the unavoidable doubts, fears, disappointments that will follow)
Yes he’s in love, but he’s afraid to trust her again and until the end he tells her that she must overcome her doubts and trust him unconditionally.
Yes man, you may be right, but there’s something I don’t agree here.
-In the beginning of a relationship I agree that a person must be madly in love with the partner, this is what makes the relationship go on.
- being madly in love means that a person sees his partner with altered sight, projects on him/her his feelings, hopes, dreams of ideal love.
- it’s ok to have trust just as respect and regards for the loved one, but those are feelings that grows with time, and in the beginning of a relationship they are fragile and destined to be- very often- disappointed.
-so it is ok that sometimes the trust you have in the beginning of a relationship is not so deep as after 10 years of marriage.
-imagine if you see your fiancée of one week that you ve been dating for 6 months pictured with a stunning woman who he chose as his PA, smiling, wining and dining her, in Paris. Won’t you be suspicious? It’s very normal to be jealous and have doubts, and if a woman has a past as the heroine is really probable that she acts like the heroine did.
- he made a mistake not telling her that he replaced his old PA with a beautiful young woman that is also, like we understand in the end, a man eater. It could be reassuring for her knowing how he saw ow. He didn’t tell her and expected her to trust him. Blindly. Big mistake man, it was too soon.
- he was hurt because he loved her, but I would like to know if the opposite happened how he would react.
So I expected a little more enthusiasm on his part, he was too cold and sensible and refused to believe her and expected that she trust him unconditionally in the future.
It doesn’t work this way.
Trust must be gained. And it takes time and help by both parts.
Anyway it was a good book, low angst level and safe because both were celibate during their separation.
I found it so different from usual presents because it was very sensible and the hero was not alpha in my opinion, but a great guy anyway, patient and caring.
Eventually he understands that he will have to be patient with her and help her overcome her fears, because they won’t disappear in a day just because he wants it. This was really moving.
December 23, 2010
Six months ago, Melody broke her engagement with Zeke because her mother convinced her that he was cheating with his secretary. Now Melody and her mother need Zeke’s help with a lawsuit, and he seizes the opportunity to force Melody back into his life.
After starting off in typical HP fashion, with misunderstandings, bitterness and a touch of revenge and blackmail, the estranged lovers in this book starts to -- gasp! -- act like rational people! Talk to each other! Decide to move slowly and see if they can forgive each other and try again!
Unfortunately, the story then moves on to what must be the most tedious plot ever imagined: she wants them to finally have sex, he wants to wait like they planned to before their estrangement, she’s tormented by his manly wiles. I’m yawning just typing this. I kept reading just to see if anything more interesting would happen -- damned ebooks! -- but it never did.
I don't usually mind Brook's no-nookie-til-we're-married heroines, but the focus on virginity was really overdone here. I also thought it was dishonest of Brooks to create the situation she did -- the virgin and the seeming cheater -- without ever going to the obvious place. Even the most secure woman in the world -- which Melody decidedly is not -- would have at least one second thought about whether she’d driven him to it; it’s only human nature.
After starting off in typical HP fashion, with misunderstandings, bitterness and a touch of revenge and blackmail, the estranged lovers in this book starts to -- gasp! -- act like rational people! Talk to each other! Decide to move slowly and see if they can forgive each other and try again!
Unfortunately, the story then moves on to what must be the most tedious plot ever imagined: she wants them to finally have sex, he wants to wait like they planned to before their estrangement, she’s tormented by his manly wiles. I’m yawning just typing this. I kept reading just to see if anything more interesting would happen -- damned ebooks! -- but it never did.
I don't usually mind Brook's no-nookie-til-we're-married heroines, but the focus on virginity was really overdone here. I also thought it was dishonest of Brooks to create the situation she did -- the virgin and the seeming cheater -- without ever going to the obvious place. Even the most secure woman in the world -- which Melody decidedly is not -- would have at least one second thought about whether she’d driven him to it; it’s only human nature.
June 24, 2018
Also published as “A Ruthless Agreement”
I liked this book. It’s a second chance story of a couple who had been engaged, but the heroine broke it off in a fit of jealousy when confronted by pictures of her fiancé with his secretary on a business trip.
So she has to trust his explanation that it simply was a business trip and he was faithful to her. She doesn’t take his word for it and breaks it off. Now six months later, her mother needs his help, he is a lawyer, so they meet again.
He forces her to have dinner w him, but instead of a revenge and retribution trope, they start talking to each other. The Hero explains that the heroine’s mother, out to discredit him, used a private detective to come up with photos that showed the whole situation out of context. It was a business dinner which included other people and they got into a taxi to go back to their hotels.
Now it is up to the heroine to believe and trust him or not. We do get the Hero’s point of view and see his frustration and hurt over the heroine. They confess that they miss each other and the story continues on from there. There are other issues that need to be resolved between them and slowly they address these as well.
There is just a bit of angst, if the reader only sees it from the point of view of the heroine. I guess she wanted to show that there are circumstances where a partner or spouse is necessarily in the company of other attractive colleagues and relationships need to be based on a strong sense of trust. The Hero really did love the heroine and I, for one, believed in his fidelity.
I liked this book. It’s a second chance story of a couple who had been engaged, but the heroine broke it off in a fit of jealousy when confronted by pictures of her fiancé with his secretary on a business trip.
So she has to trust his explanation that it simply was a business trip and he was faithful to her. She doesn’t take his word for it and breaks it off. Now six months later, her mother needs his help, he is a lawyer, so they meet again.
He forces her to have dinner w him, but instead of a revenge and retribution trope, they start talking to each other. The Hero explains that the heroine’s mother, out to discredit him, used a private detective to come up with photos that showed the whole situation out of context. It was a business dinner which included other people and they got into a taxi to go back to their hotels.
Now it is up to the heroine to believe and trust him or not. We do get the Hero’s point of view and see his frustration and hurt over the heroine. They confess that they miss each other and the story continues on from there. There are other issues that need to be resolved between them and slowly they address these as well.
There is just a bit of angst, if the reader only sees it from the point of view of the heroine. I guess she wanted to show that there are circumstances where a partner or spouse is necessarily in the company of other attractive colleagues and relationships need to be based on a strong sense of trust. The Hero really did love the heroine and I, for one, believed in his fidelity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2021
She won't be bedded by blackmail
As a lawyer, Zeke Russell is second to none; dynamic and driven, he always wins. So when his ex-fiancee Melody Taylor asks for his help, he takes his chance to settle an old score
Melody didn't think she would ever have to see Zeke again, but now she has no choice but to swallow her pride and accept his proposition: rekindle their relationship--though this time it's on his terms However, there's one thing Melody is determined to make sure of: she will never surrender
As a lawyer, Zeke Russell is second to none; dynamic and driven, he always wins. So when his ex-fiancee Melody Taylor asks for his help, he takes his chance to settle an old score
Melody didn't think she would ever have to see Zeke again, but now she has no choice but to swallow her pride and accept his proposition: rekindle their relationship--though this time it's on his terms However, there's one thing Melody is determined to make sure of: she will never surrender
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2020
2.5 stars
I skimmed a bit. Not exactly what I liked in a book but this was okay, kinda meh.
I skimmed a bit. Not exactly what I liked in a book but this was okay, kinda meh.
February 14, 2021
The H is almost too perfect. He says and does everything right. She is a virgin and he wants to wait until the wedding night, even when she is willing to throw herself on him.
I don’t understand the title, because there is nothing ruthless about him or about their agreement. He is sweet, tender, supportive and loving towards the h.
This book is about adults. About their fears and sorrow after being hurt. No games are played, no cruelty. Just honest feelings. The h is insecure and jealous, but because of her past and her mother you can understand where she’s coming from. The H is not cruel. And the h is not stupid like in so many HP’s. It’s therefore a very different HP novel.
I would give it 5 stars, but I miss his hunger and desire for her. He tells her that he wants her, but he doesn’t really show it. Only a few kisses until their wedding night at the end of the book. I do believe in his love for her, but not in his lust for her. I want the H to not be able to keep his hands and lips off the h.
I don’t understand the title, because there is nothing ruthless about him or about their agreement. He is sweet, tender, supportive and loving towards the h.
This book is about adults. About their fears and sorrow after being hurt. No games are played, no cruelty. Just honest feelings. The h is insecure and jealous, but because of her past and her mother you can understand where she’s coming from. The H is not cruel. And the h is not stupid like in so many HP’s. It’s therefore a very different HP novel.
I would give it 5 stars, but I miss his hunger and desire for her. He tells her that he wants her, but he doesn’t really show it. Only a few kisses until their wedding night at the end of the book. I do believe in his love for her, but not in his lust for her. I want the H to not be able to keep his hands and lips off the h.
March 8, 2015
That was incredible!
I've never read an harlequin book like this. Since she was wrong, i though she would play the bitch all along when he is doing anything to win her back! But no, they were beautiful and so in love there was no point in playing games!
A really good surprise!
I've never read an harlequin book like this. Since she was wrong, i though she would play the bitch all along when he is doing anything to win her back! But no, they were beautiful and so in love there was no point in playing games!
A really good surprise!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2020
Tedious in the extreme.
December 20, 2022
Liked the characters and the story.
August 7, 2023
I've read a bunch of Harlequim books and I love them but I can never get over these titles...
This one is pretty sweet, nothing much.
This one is pretty sweet, nothing much.
March 18, 2025
I didn't like it. It was not horrible, but it got extremely boring by the half way mark, their conversations and thoughts felt the exact same every chapter. Np.
September 25, 2009
Modern
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews