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Una Boda De Pelicula
Una Boda De Pelicula by Sally Wentworth released on Mar 25, 1997 is available now for purchase.
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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December 4, 2018
Re Marriage by Arrangement - Sally Wentworth does high drama comedy in this one.
The h, who Titian colored hair comes with the monkier Red, is currently in London trying to make it as an actress. She is from Australia and had some prior acting success until her refusal to go the casting couch route got her blackballed.
So the h got her cattle station owning dad to spring for a year in London on the condition that if she failed, she would return home and marry his head stockman. The h is NOT up for that life, no matter that her dad is irked she wasn't a son to leave the cattle to, so she is doing all that she can to make it as an actress and stay on.
(A large part of what follows is very dependent on believing that a feisty young miss who is more stubborn than a mule is going to let her equally stubborn father dictate her life. The h is pretty young and naive tho, so that does help you get over the hump of disbelief.)
The h decides she needs vocal lessons and takes herself off to meet the woman she has deemed as a suitable teacher. It is on the weekend and a half dressed man answers the door. The h assumes the man is the vocal coach's lover and after some verbal exchanges with the man, the vocal teacher arrives and agrees to take the h on.
The h is doing her thing and learning to speak without an accent when she finds her vocal mentor has fallen down the stairs and the man who shacks up with her isn't around. The h and a neighbor get the lady to the hospital and the h ends up spending the night at her vocal coach's house.
There is an intruder in the middle of the night and after the h almost brains him with a vase, we find out it is the vocal coach's man. Except after some very funny verbal snark and a trip to the hospital, we find out the man is the vocal coach's son, Linus, (which is a terrible name for an H if you have ever read the cartoon Peanuts), and he has his own production company.
The h is a very competent nurse substitute and a great housekeeper/secretary in addition to acting aspirations, so the vocal coach decides that the h can move in an help her during her recovery. The H isn't too happy about that, he thinks the h is another actress on the make and there is more very funny banter as the two of them declare war.
After a few days the H realizes that the h really is a decent person, so in the aims of attempting a truce, the H offers to help the h get some acting roles. The h's problem is that she looks too generic, the H suggests she comes across as a run of the mill aspiring 'sex-cat' and the h is very hurt by the assumption.
In her own little bit of revenge, the h manages to give the H's entire office the notion that the two of them are shacking up together and the H wryly acknowledges he might have deserved that. The h really does want to act and the H does seem to know what he is doing, so she agrees to revamp her life and looks and the H sends her around to various acting lessons and things.
The h finds that she is missing the H when he goes away on business, he is staying at his mother's when he is in town, to keep an eye on things he claims. When the H returns there is a very jet lagged purple passion moment and the h gets really angry when she thinks the H pulled her into bed cause any woman would do at the time.
The H agrees to not talk about the whole boudoir incident and takes the h to a televised award show as his date. The h overhears some gossip about an old flame from the H's past trying to restart something and the h leaps to a few conclusions.
The first is that the H is using her as a shield to ward off his ex-OW. The second is that during their verbal skirmishes the h challenged the H's statement that actors and actresses he hired tend to go on to have great careers.
The h overhears someone mention that the H is playing Svengali to the h's Trilby, and tho she wonders what a hat has to do with anything, she is sure not going to be Eliza Doolittle to Linus's Professor Higgins.
But then the h's dad shows up, he had previously called in the middle of the Boudoir Incident That Shall Not Be Named and the h told him she wasn't coming back to Australia because she was in love with the H.
Now the h's dad is all about meeting this Pommy who interrupted his plans for his daughter and the h is forced to draft the H into her little deception. More banterings and snarky remarks ensue with the H and h finally deciding to just do a wedding to get the h's dad to go away. (At least the h believes that to be the case.)
Then the h sees the H kissing his ex and in her fury and jealousy, realizes that she loves the H, therefore she tells him she can't marry him. (The H uses the fallacy that if they just have an MOC, it shouldn't matter that he has women on the side and I would kinda go along with that, except the H flaunted his OW very publicly and I thought that was really tacky of him.)
The H then admits that kissing the OW was a set up, he was trying to make the h jealous so she would admit she loves him. He has loved her for ages now and all the acting lessons and plans were so she would be happy and not leave him.
The h finally confesses her love back and the big wedding is on again. The h and H get married and the h's dad throws in a surprise of his own when he gets the h's former older roommate to marry him and move back to Australia to start producing babies to inherit the cattle for the big HEA.
This one was cute and it moved along pretty quickly. There was some concern that the H really was just making her over into his image of sophistication, but I chose to read it as him using his expertise to help the h capitalize her individuality as an actress so she would be happy.
This H was not mean, tho like all HP H's he was pretty murky in his motivations until almost the end of the book. I did believe he loved the h, albeit more because his mother claimed it was so than from any big dramatics on his part.
This h was dramatic enough for the both of them, plus she was very funny with it. So give this one an outing when you want a fun and fluffy romance and have yourself a pretty nice HP outing.
The h, who Titian colored hair comes with the monkier Red, is currently in London trying to make it as an actress. She is from Australia and had some prior acting success until her refusal to go the casting couch route got her blackballed.
So the h got her cattle station owning dad to spring for a year in London on the condition that if she failed, she would return home and marry his head stockman. The h is NOT up for that life, no matter that her dad is irked she wasn't a son to leave the cattle to, so she is doing all that she can to make it as an actress and stay on.
(A large part of what follows is very dependent on believing that a feisty young miss who is more stubborn than a mule is going to let her equally stubborn father dictate her life. The h is pretty young and naive tho, so that does help you get over the hump of disbelief.)
The h decides she needs vocal lessons and takes herself off to meet the woman she has deemed as a suitable teacher. It is on the weekend and a half dressed man answers the door. The h assumes the man is the vocal coach's lover and after some verbal exchanges with the man, the vocal teacher arrives and agrees to take the h on.
The h is doing her thing and learning to speak without an accent when she finds her vocal mentor has fallen down the stairs and the man who shacks up with her isn't around. The h and a neighbor get the lady to the hospital and the h ends up spending the night at her vocal coach's house.
There is an intruder in the middle of the night and after the h almost brains him with a vase, we find out it is the vocal coach's man. Except after some very funny verbal snark and a trip to the hospital, we find out the man is the vocal coach's son, Linus, (which is a terrible name for an H if you have ever read the cartoon Peanuts), and he has his own production company.
The h is a very competent nurse substitute and a great housekeeper/secretary in addition to acting aspirations, so the vocal coach decides that the h can move in an help her during her recovery. The H isn't too happy about that, he thinks the h is another actress on the make and there is more very funny banter as the two of them declare war.
After a few days the H realizes that the h really is a decent person, so in the aims of attempting a truce, the H offers to help the h get some acting roles. The h's problem is that she looks too generic, the H suggests she comes across as a run of the mill aspiring 'sex-cat' and the h is very hurt by the assumption.
In her own little bit of revenge, the h manages to give the H's entire office the notion that the two of them are shacking up together and the H wryly acknowledges he might have deserved that. The h really does want to act and the H does seem to know what he is doing, so she agrees to revamp her life and looks and the H sends her around to various acting lessons and things.
The h finds that she is missing the H when he goes away on business, he is staying at his mother's when he is in town, to keep an eye on things he claims. When the H returns there is a very jet lagged purple passion moment and the h gets really angry when she thinks the H pulled her into bed cause any woman would do at the time.
The H agrees to not talk about the whole boudoir incident and takes the h to a televised award show as his date. The h overhears some gossip about an old flame from the H's past trying to restart something and the h leaps to a few conclusions.
The first is that the H is using her as a shield to ward off his ex-OW. The second is that during their verbal skirmishes the h challenged the H's statement that actors and actresses he hired tend to go on to have great careers.
The h overhears someone mention that the H is playing Svengali to the h's Trilby, and tho she wonders what a hat has to do with anything, she is sure not going to be Eliza Doolittle to Linus's Professor Higgins.
But then the h's dad shows up, he had previously called in the middle of the Boudoir Incident That Shall Not Be Named and the h told him she wasn't coming back to Australia because she was in love with the H.
Now the h's dad is all about meeting this Pommy who interrupted his plans for his daughter and the h is forced to draft the H into her little deception. More banterings and snarky remarks ensue with the H and h finally deciding to just do a wedding to get the h's dad to go away. (At least the h believes that to be the case.)
Then the h sees the H kissing his ex and in her fury and jealousy, realizes that she loves the H, therefore she tells him she can't marry him. (The H uses the fallacy that if they just have an MOC, it shouldn't matter that he has women on the side and I would kinda go along with that, except the H flaunted his OW very publicly and I thought that was really tacky of him.)
The H then admits that kissing the OW was a set up, he was trying to make the h jealous so she would admit she loves him. He has loved her for ages now and all the acting lessons and plans were so she would be happy and not leave him.
The h finally confesses her love back and the big wedding is on again. The h and H get married and the h's dad throws in a surprise of his own when he gets the h's former older roommate to marry him and move back to Australia to start producing babies to inherit the cattle for the big HEA.
This one was cute and it moved along pretty quickly. There was some concern that the H really was just making her over into his image of sophistication, but I chose to read it as him using his expertise to help the h capitalize her individuality as an actress so she would be happy.
This H was not mean, tho like all HP H's he was pretty murky in his motivations until almost the end of the book. I did believe he loved the h, albeit more because his mother claimed it was so than from any big dramatics on his part.
This h was dramatic enough for the both of them, plus she was very funny with it. So give this one an outing when you want a fun and fluffy romance and have yourself a pretty nice HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2017
Super cute story of a red-haired Aussie in London trying to become an actress over her father’s objections. She is turned down for a part because of her thick accent, so she goes to the home of a famous vocal coach to ask for lessons. A man in a dressing gown answers the door and tells her to go away, but the vocal coach, also in her dressing gown consents to give her lessons. The heroine thinks the hero is some kind of boy toy for the famous vocal coach.
The heroine has lessons with the vocal coach and all is well for a few weeks until no one answers the door the day of her lesson. She looks through the window and sees her coach has fallen down the stairs and is injured.
She gets her to the hospital and tries to call the boy toy at the coach’s request, but he doesn’t answer. He eventually ends up at the hospital and is introduced as the coach’s son. Seems he always stays at his mother’s when he’s jet lagged from one of his business trips and that’s why he was there that morning.
The son, our hero, thinks the heroine is scheming to get close to him because she’s an actress. Heroine has no clue that hero owns his own production company. After those misunderstandings cleared up, things go from bad to worse when the hero’s mother wants the h to stay with her as she recuperates.
The hero also moves in to keep an eye on the heroine - and there is a delightful phase of getting to know each other. The hero finally realizes the heroine is a good person and after seeing an Australian soap opera, realizes she has talent. He arranges to help the heroine – but the first thing he does is to have her cut her hair. Heroine thinks it’s a test of her commitment, but the hero says it’s so she doesn’t look like all the other young starlets trying to make their mark. There are some interesting issues raised about whether the hero wants to change her over in his ideal image or if he’s just trying to bring out the best in her.
The heroine is more and more attracted and one morning when the jet-lagged H comes back from another assignment and she goes to wake him, he kisses her and one thing leads to another. They are just about to have sex again when the phone rings – it’s the heroine’s dad calling from Australia, wanting her to come home and marry some guy so he can leave his station to grandchildren. Heroine tells him she’s in love with hero.
When she returns to bed, the hero is asleep and later in the day, the heroine brushes away the encounter as if it were nothing. The hero goes along with this, but invites her to be his escort at an awards ceremony.
Hero wins an award, of course, and kisses her in front of everyone. Heroine overhears women discussing the hero’s former girlfriend and why he’s taken up with the h. They think he’s just using the h as a shield. Heroine takes this up with the hero, but he won’t give her a straight answer.
Then her father shows up, wanting to meet the hero and making noises about them getting married. Hero agrees to marriage and heroine thinks he’s just doing it for a myriad of reasons – none of which are true. Their wedding is set for three weeks hence so the h’s father can attend. When she sees another woman kissing the H before they are to meet for lunch, the heroine angrily confronts him. He tells her he set it up to make her jealous because he loves her and wants to hear it from her. They have a lovely white wedding – and the hero hints he has a part in a new production just for her. Meanwhile, the h’s father has been busy during his short stay. He married the h’s roommate, and now has a young wife to have sons – so heroine is off the baby-making hook. HEA.
This was cute because of the heroine’s straight-forward personality and how she played off the hero – who was alpha, but never mean. The side characters were well-rounded and added to the story. Just a fun, feel-good story.
The heroine has lessons with the vocal coach and all is well for a few weeks until no one answers the door the day of her lesson. She looks through the window and sees her coach has fallen down the stairs and is injured.
She gets her to the hospital and tries to call the boy toy at the coach’s request, but he doesn’t answer. He eventually ends up at the hospital and is introduced as the coach’s son. Seems he always stays at his mother’s when he’s jet lagged from one of his business trips and that’s why he was there that morning.
The son, our hero, thinks the heroine is scheming to get close to him because she’s an actress. Heroine has no clue that hero owns his own production company. After those misunderstandings cleared up, things go from bad to worse when the hero’s mother wants the h to stay with her as she recuperates.
The hero also moves in to keep an eye on the heroine - and there is a delightful phase of getting to know each other. The hero finally realizes the heroine is a good person and after seeing an Australian soap opera, realizes she has talent. He arranges to help the heroine – but the first thing he does is to have her cut her hair. Heroine thinks it’s a test of her commitment, but the hero says it’s so she doesn’t look like all the other young starlets trying to make their mark. There are some interesting issues raised about whether the hero wants to change her over in his ideal image or if he’s just trying to bring out the best in her.
The heroine is more and more attracted and one morning when the jet-lagged H comes back from another assignment and she goes to wake him, he kisses her and one thing leads to another. They are just about to have sex again when the phone rings – it’s the heroine’s dad calling from Australia, wanting her to come home and marry some guy so he can leave his station to grandchildren. Heroine tells him she’s in love with hero.
When she returns to bed, the hero is asleep and later in the day, the heroine brushes away the encounter as if it were nothing. The hero goes along with this, but invites her to be his escort at an awards ceremony.
Hero wins an award, of course, and kisses her in front of everyone. Heroine overhears women discussing the hero’s former girlfriend and why he’s taken up with the h. They think he’s just using the h as a shield. Heroine takes this up with the hero, but he won’t give her a straight answer.
Then her father shows up, wanting to meet the hero and making noises about them getting married. Hero agrees to marriage and heroine thinks he’s just doing it for a myriad of reasons – none of which are true. Their wedding is set for three weeks hence so the h’s father can attend. When she sees another woman kissing the H before they are to meet for lunch, the heroine angrily confronts him. He tells her he set it up to make her jealous because he loves her and wants to hear it from her. They have a lovely white wedding – and the hero hints he has a part in a new production just for her. Meanwhile, the h’s father has been busy during his short stay. He married the h’s roommate, and now has a young wife to have sons – so heroine is off the baby-making hook. HEA.
This was cute because of the heroine’s straight-forward personality and how she played off the hero – who was alpha, but never mean. The side characters were well-rounded and added to the story. Just a fun, feel-good story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2018
The moment I went into the local thrift store and found out they had an entire section for Harlequins was a really great time for me. I nearly bought all of them, but in the end I chose four that looked the most ridiculous. This was one of them.
With a title like Marriage by Arrangement, I was sure this was going to be a winner. You know, one of thoseworst best kind of scenarios. But this had all sorts of things going wrong.
First of all, our leading lady, Red, is meant to be Australian. The only thing that apparently makes her Australian is the fact that she likes to drink beer and her dad owns a sheep station. Firstly, just because a woman is Australian, does not mean she likes to drink beer. And secondly, I don't think a "sheep station" is a thing. I'm pretty sure they just call them farms. But what would I know, I've only lived in Australia my whole life.
Next up, our leading man is an asshat. He's rude, obnoxious and completely vile. I loathe him. I was really hoping that another leading man might happen along and sweep Red off her feet, because Linus is a dingbat and doesn't deserve Red. But unfortunately that didn't happen. She somehow falls for him, even though he doesn't start paying attention to her until she cuts her hair, starts going to the gym and ONLY EATING WHAT HE SAYS SHE IS ALLOWED TO EAT. Oh and lets not forget that Red is basically hired as a servant in Linus's mothers house. A seemingly unpaid servant, at that. So I guess the word slave would be more appropriate. It's all very yuck.
This story was written very strangely. There was a lot of random information that would just pop up along the way, but other vital information was left out. Apparently Red had a boyfriend that we were never told about! It's mentioned that Red "stops seeing the boyfriend she had" because of her commitment to Linus's mother. That's the first we ever heard of it. I also don't know what Red looks like, because we never get a description other than her hair colour until the second last page when we learn her eyes are green.
Sex and sexuality is portrayed very badly in this book. Red is described as a "sex-cat" because she owns some dresses. How dare a young woman own dresses and dare to wear them in public!
There's talk of her getting an acting job through the "casting-couch." The word rape is thrown around multiple times and made to feel like a silly phrase that women spout when they are emotional.
And the one sex scene we get in this has so many issues I don't even know where to start. Red says no, Linus goes for it anyway. Linus uses Red for his own pleasure, enjoys himself and Sally Wentworth tries to make you believe that Red enjoys herself along the way too, but I don't believe it for a second.
I thought maybe there was going to be a surprise baby thrown in here, I would have quite enjoyed that twist. It would have made things more interesting, that's for sure.
I guess what I was expecting in Marriage by Arrangement, was for there to ACTUALLY be a marriage of arrangement. I was hoping that they would arrange something at the beginning and then fall in love as the book progressed. But instead I got a day by day description of Red's life as a slave and at the end there, some drama with her dad that made absolutely no sense at all.
This book was silly. I'm trying to decide if I should donate it back to the thrift store, or set it on fire so no one else has to read it. Help me decide!
1 Star
With a title like Marriage by Arrangement, I was sure this was going to be a winner. You know, one of those
First of all, our leading lady, Red, is meant to be Australian. The only thing that apparently makes her Australian is the fact that she likes to drink beer and her dad owns a sheep station. Firstly, just because a woman is Australian, does not mean she likes to drink beer. And secondly, I don't think a "sheep station" is a thing. I'm pretty sure they just call them farms. But what would I know, I've only lived in Australia my whole life.
Next up, our leading man is an asshat. He's rude, obnoxious and completely vile. I loathe him. I was really hoping that another leading man might happen along and sweep Red off her feet, because Linus is a dingbat and doesn't deserve Red. But unfortunately that didn't happen. She somehow falls for him, even though he doesn't start paying attention to her until she cuts her hair, starts going to the gym and ONLY EATING WHAT HE SAYS SHE IS ALLOWED TO EAT. Oh and lets not forget that Red is basically hired as a servant in Linus's mothers house. A seemingly unpaid servant, at that. So I guess the word slave would be more appropriate. It's all very yuck.
This story was written very strangely. There was a lot of random information that would just pop up along the way, but other vital information was left out. Apparently Red had a boyfriend that we were never told about! It's mentioned that Red "stops seeing the boyfriend she had" because of her commitment to Linus's mother. That's the first we ever heard of it. I also don't know what Red looks like, because we never get a description other than her hair colour until the second last page when we learn her eyes are green.
Sex and sexuality is portrayed very badly in this book. Red is described as a "sex-cat" because she owns some dresses. How dare a young woman own dresses and dare to wear them in public!
There's talk of her getting an acting job through the "casting-couch." The word rape is thrown around multiple times and made to feel like a silly phrase that women spout when they are emotional.
And the one sex scene we get in this has so many issues I don't even know where to start. Red says no, Linus goes for it anyway. Linus uses Red for his own pleasure, enjoys himself and Sally Wentworth tries to make you believe that Red enjoys herself along the way too, but I don't believe it for a second.
I thought maybe there was going to be a surprise baby thrown in here, I would have quite enjoyed that twist. It would have made things more interesting, that's for sure.
I guess what I was expecting in Marriage by Arrangement, was for there to ACTUALLY be a marriage of arrangement. I was hoping that they would arrange something at the beginning and then fall in love as the book progressed. But instead I got a day by day description of Red's life as a slave and at the end there, some drama with her dad that made absolutely no sense at all.
This book was silly. I'm trying to decide if I should donate it back to the thrift store, or set it on fire so no one else has to read it. Help me decide!
1 Star
March 12, 2014
This was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed this one. I have not read much by this author, but this was delightfully quirky and without all those darker tropes that is typical of the genre. The heroine was funny, passionate and very strong, never allowing anyone to walk all over her. (made for a nice change) The hero was alpha to the core, but never an asshat. Secondary characters were a delight and the story had all the requisite tension necessary to keep my interest, but it wasn't over the top. This had all the elements of an "I Love Lucy" rerun that had me chuckling.
My only regret (as is often the case in the older HP's) is the ending was a bit too abrupt. So I knocked one star off.
So if you want a fun, light and easy romance to entertain you for a few hours, this should do the trick.
My only regret (as is often the case in the older HP's) is the ending was a bit too abrupt. So I knocked one star off.
So if you want a fun, light and easy romance to entertain you for a few hours, this should do the trick.
June 24, 2024
I initially avoided this book because the female protagonist is named RED MCGEE, ridiculous even by Harlequin standards. I should have stuck with that decision.
Our feisty red headed Australian heroine comes to London to become a famous actress. She flunks all of her auditions because of her Aussie accent and her generally uncouth manner, so she hires a voice coach to help her. Her voice coach is an older lady who is struggling a lot in life so the heroine unwittingly becomes her quasi-nurse, assistant, and housekeeper. Through this arrangement, she meets the voice coach's son, who is a famous theatrical producer.
Naturally, Aussie girl and London Man butt heads from the second they meet. Hero is the typical, arrogant, cold bully who looks down his long nose at the heroine, who he has automatically labeled a tramp, as so many Harlequin "heroes" do. The hero is very cruel to her, belittling her talent and her looks, telling her she is just one out of a bunch of indistinguishable London actresses that he could get for a penny a dozen. He makes fun of her for flunking her auditions and prides himself on only booking the best talent for his production. Heroine has a backbone, and a wicked sense of humor. She calls out hero for every hypocritical insult he launches at her. She tells him that he is not as high and mighty as he thinks, and he wouldn’t be where he is today but for the talented actors and actresses who help get his productions off the ground. So they enter a bet of sorts. The hero willgroom her like a Svengali help her with her acting career as thanks for all the help she has given his mom and prove at the same time that he is more than just a lucky talent spotter. He orders her a makeover, acting and dancing lessons, a nutritionist, the whole works. He squires the new, improved heroine around town so she can meet all the important people in the industry and he even kisses her on national TV at an awards show. They get into another big fight after the show when heroine overhears catty women discussing how hero is using heroine as his beard to fend off a clingy ex-girlfriend.
Then, inevitably, all that built-up tension from all of their arguments turns into a volcanic night of passion. Heroine thinks this was the best sex she’s ever had and she is already seeing a unicorn and rainbow future for her and the hero. But hero wakes up as cold and aloof as ever, ordering her around like his skivvy, and pretending that their volcanic romp in the sack was just the result of him being jet lagged and her being available.
It isn’t long before heroine’s irate, Australian sheep farmer father shows up in London ready to take his daughter home to marry his head farmer and give him a passel of grandbabies instead of mixing herself up with shady London theater people. He is even prepared to buy the hero off. So the heroine lies that she is in love with the hero and they will soon be getting married, a farce which the hero and his mom agree to go along with.
Before the wedding, the heroine gets cold feet. She is in love with the hero but thinks it is hopeless since she is only a joke to him. She also feels bad about deceiving her dad. She is ready to throw in the towel and go back to Australia with her dad. On her way to tell the hero of her decision, she spots his clingy ex kissing him passionately and loses it. In a blind rage, she jumps the hero and tries to punch his lights out. This confrontation leads to hero confessing that he loves her and he only dangled the OW to get heroine to admit that she loves him too. He had long ago told his mom and her dad that he loved her and was marrying her for real but was still trying to get her to admit to her feelings.
I REALLY REALLY hated that the ILY declaration hinged on the tired old trope of dangling the OW. I also had a big problem with the huge plot hole about him supposedly loving her from Day One. He is the one who pulled back coldly after they made love the first time, when she was all ready to swoon at his feet. Then he was super worried whether she was on the pill. He continuously treated her like she was an easy lay who looked as cheap as she acted, and he made it clear that she would not acceptable until she virtually changed every aspect of herself, from her hair to her clothes to her body to her accent to her manners. So his insistence that he was already in love with her way back when was totally implausible to me.
There was also a weird subplot hinting that her crusty old dad was falling for hero’s widowed mom. Then, at the the last second, the author reveals that the heroine's dad is only 45 years old AND he secretly got married to heroine’s old roommate, a 30 year old failed actress who kept encouraging the heroine throughout the story to use the casting couch to get places. *Face Palm* What a happy ending!
Our feisty red headed Australian heroine comes to London to become a famous actress. She flunks all of her auditions because of her Aussie accent and her generally uncouth manner, so she hires a voice coach to help her. Her voice coach is an older lady who is struggling a lot in life so the heroine unwittingly becomes her quasi-nurse, assistant, and housekeeper. Through this arrangement, she meets the voice coach's son, who is a famous theatrical producer.
Naturally, Aussie girl and London Man butt heads from the second they meet. Hero is the typical, arrogant, cold bully who looks down his long nose at the heroine, who he has automatically labeled a tramp, as so many Harlequin "heroes" do. The hero is very cruel to her, belittling her talent and her looks, telling her she is just one out of a bunch of indistinguishable London actresses that he could get for a penny a dozen. He makes fun of her for flunking her auditions and prides himself on only booking the best talent for his production. Heroine has a backbone, and a wicked sense of humor. She calls out hero for every hypocritical insult he launches at her. She tells him that he is not as high and mighty as he thinks, and he wouldn’t be where he is today but for the talented actors and actresses who help get his productions off the ground. So they enter a bet of sorts. The hero will
Then, inevitably, all that built-up tension from all of their arguments turns into a volcanic night of passion. Heroine thinks this was the best sex she’s ever had and she is already seeing a unicorn and rainbow future for her and the hero. But hero wakes up as cold and aloof as ever, ordering her around like his skivvy, and pretending that their volcanic romp in the sack was just the result of him being jet lagged and her being available.
It isn’t long before heroine’s irate, Australian sheep farmer father shows up in London ready to take his daughter home to marry his head farmer and give him a passel of grandbabies instead of mixing herself up with shady London theater people. He is even prepared to buy the hero off. So the heroine lies that she is in love with the hero and they will soon be getting married, a farce which the hero and his mom agree to go along with.
Before the wedding, the heroine gets cold feet. She is in love with the hero but thinks it is hopeless since she is only a joke to him. She also feels bad about deceiving her dad. She is ready to throw in the towel and go back to Australia with her dad. On her way to tell the hero of her decision, she spots his clingy ex kissing him passionately and loses it. In a blind rage, she jumps the hero and tries to punch his lights out. This confrontation leads to hero confessing that he loves her and he only dangled the OW to get heroine to admit that she loves him too. He had long ago told his mom and her dad that he loved her and was marrying her for real but was still trying to get her to admit to her feelings.
I REALLY REALLY hated that the ILY declaration hinged on the tired old trope of dangling the OW. I also had a big problem with the huge plot hole about him supposedly loving her from Day One. He is the one who pulled back coldly after they made love the first time, when she was all ready to swoon at his feet. Then he was super worried whether she was on the pill. He continuously treated her like she was an easy lay who looked as cheap as she acted, and he made it clear that she would not acceptable until she virtually changed every aspect of herself, from her hair to her clothes to her body to her accent to her manners. So his insistence that he was already in love with her way back when was totally implausible to me.
There was also a weird subplot hinting that her crusty old dad was falling for hero’s widowed mom. Then, at the the last second, the author reveals that the heroine's dad is only 45 years old AND he secretly got married to heroine’s old roommate, a 30 year old failed actress who kept encouraging the heroine throughout the story to use the casting couch to get places. *Face Palm* What a happy ending!
February 7, 2017
Never really got the impression that he loved her except for the declarations at the end. I could kind of see where the author might have been throwing in a few clues but his words as we went along were too harsh to allow me to believe he was softening. Mostly it seemed like he truly believed she was trash and he was totally uninterested in her unless she changed and became more sophisticated.
August 20, 2018
Well first off the book blurb is a little misleading.
This was like a 3 star read for me as both MCs got a little annoying from time to time. But the ending was very nicely done. So I rounded it up to 4 stars.
Red is a young 20 something Aussie, who has been granted a year by her father to go to England and get the whole 'acting business' out of her system. He wants her to come back to Australia and marry the guy on the neighbouring sheep ranch, even though the guy obviously doesn't love her.
Red decides to take voice lessons from Felicia, a beautiful older woman, to get rid of her Aussie accent and get a British accent ; )
That's where she meets Linus, in his robe and looking decidedly hungover, at the door of her acting teacher's place. It was pretty funny how the two of them got to know each other.
She ends up rescuing Felicia, and then living with her to help her recuperate. Linus hates her at first, thinking she's using Felicia to get to him.
Linus is a very stiff, stuffy guy in a suit who works a lot. Red is his opposite, very energetic and passionate. They get on like oil and water!
He says exactly what he thinks and doesn't try to soften the blows. Red takes umbrage with everything he says.
So I did get a little tired of it after a while. Neither of them seemed to want to give an inch.
But in the end, Linus says ILY first, and he goes on to say why. I have to say, I wish HP Heroes would do that more often!!
And it wasn't one of those ending that comes in the last paragraph. You get a few pages to wallow in the HEA of it all.
safety is good
This was like a 3 star read for me as both MCs got a little annoying from time to time. But the ending was very nicely done. So I rounded it up to 4 stars.
Red is a young 20 something Aussie, who has been granted a year by her father to go to England and get the whole 'acting business' out of her system. He wants her to come back to Australia and marry the guy on the neighbouring sheep ranch, even though the guy obviously doesn't love her.
Red decides to take voice lessons from Felicia, a beautiful older woman, to get rid of her Aussie accent and get a British accent ; )
That's where she meets Linus, in his robe and looking decidedly hungover, at the door of her acting teacher's place. It was pretty funny how the two of them got to know each other.
She ends up rescuing Felicia, and then living with her to help her recuperate. Linus hates her at first, thinking she's using Felicia to get to him.
Linus is a very stiff, stuffy guy in a suit who works a lot. Red is his opposite, very energetic and passionate. They get on like oil and water!
He says exactly what he thinks and doesn't try to soften the blows. Red takes umbrage with everything he says.
So I did get a little tired of it after a while. Neither of them seemed to want to give an inch.
But in the end, Linus says ILY first, and he goes on to say why. I have to say, I wish HP Heroes would do that more often!!
And it wasn't one of those ending that comes in the last paragraph. You get a few pages to wallow in the HEA of it all.
safety is good
November 26, 2019
I liked both of the leads, even the man grew on me. I really liked how long it took the woman to figure out she had feelings for the dude. And even better, when she finally figured it out she did that thing, the "Oh." of dawning horror at having tripped into love unaware. I love that shit.
These older harlequins are weird to read sometimes because they contain little to no POV from the dude. And while, generally, I don't care to hear a man's thoughts in books like these it can be a saving grace for an otherwise unbearable character. Fortunately, this dude wasn't a total tool.
These older harlequins are weird to read sometimes because they contain little to no POV from the dude. And while, generally, I don't care to hear a man's thoughts in books like these it can be a saving grace for an otherwise unbearable character. Fortunately, this dude wasn't a total tool.
March 1, 2023
Her name is ‘Red’. She has red hair, she is not a virgin and he calls her a ‘sex-cat’ or whatever because of the way she dressed.
She has to change her clothes and her looks and she fully depends on him to start her career. Don’t like that.
Their one sexual encounter was not romantic at all because the morning after he says he was half asleep while doing it with her. Yeah sure…
She has to change her clothes and her looks and she fully depends on him to start her career. Don’t like that.
Their one sexual encounter was not romantic at all because the morning after he says he was half asleep while doing it with her. Yeah sure…
November 29, 2021
I'm only a few pages in but I'm having a blast so far. It's fun. I'll review again after I've finished it. But after accidentally reading a christianity-shoved-down-your-throat book falsely marketed as a romance thriller, this is a breath of fresh air!
April 11, 2018
Ok. Never say ok say alright.
December 9, 2020
Pretty good but I didn't find the heroine all that interesting. Liked him better!
April 7, 2021
I really liked this book.
Read
January 31, 2022Singing lessons
August 21, 2008
Wah..buku ini sangat menyenangkan!! Karakter2nya kocak, blak2an and ce-nya juga tough banget!
Tentang Red Mcgee dan Linus Hunt yang awalnya bertemu karena Red, aktris dr Aussie, datang ke rumah Felicia, ibu Linus, untuk belajar vokal. Setelah sempat mengira Linus adalah cowok simpanan Felicia, Red mulai terlibat dengan Linus saat Felicia meminta Red untuk tinggal bersamanya sebagai perawat dan asistennya selama Felicia sakit. Linus yg adalah pemilik sebuah production house tentu saja mencurigai niat asli Red dan selalu bersikap sinis. Demi mencegah Red memanfaatkan ibunya dan juga dengan alasan tidak yakin kalau Red akan menjaga ibunya dengan baik, maka Linus pun memutuskan juga tinggal di rumah ibunya. Ternyata setelah mengenal Red, Linus memutuskan membantu Red dengan syarat Red harus mengikuti berbagai kursus keterampilan yg dpt mendukung karirnya. Di suatu acara penghargaan, Linus yg mengajak Red bersamanya memenangkan salah satu award n didepan banyak org mencium Red saking bahagianya! Sewaktu di toilet tanpa sengaja Red mendengar 2 org wanita bergosip yg bilang bahwa Linus mencium Red hanya supaya membuat ce2 yg lagi pdkt ma Linus mundur. Diperparah lagi dengan salah satu aktris yg gak berhasil mndpt perhatian Linus malah meracuni pikiran Red dgn blg klo after Red jd aktris mk hidupnya akan selalu diatur oleh Linus. Tentu saja hal ini membuat Red merasa dimanfaatkan dan memancing pertengkaran antara mrk. Blm selesai masalah, datanglah ayah Red utk maksa Red kmbl k aussie dan dijodohkan dgn pria pilihan ayahnya. Red yang panik krn sebelumnya smpt bohong ma bokapnya dgn blg klo Linus adlh kekasihnya langsung saja nyewa aktor spy berpura2 jd Linus agar Red diijinkan tinggal. Ternyata...bokap Red dah duluan buat janji ma Linus, maka gagal deh rencana Red. But, tanpa diduga, Linus malah dgn santainya ikut ambil bagian dlm kebohongan Red..Hmm...apa maksudnya yaa..
**spoiler** Red yg panik minta tolong ma Felicia spy mau membantunya mendukung cerita Red bahwa dirinya memang kekasih Linus, n gak taunya Linus dan ibunya malah bekerjasama utk menjadikan Red kekasih Linus sungguhan..gw suka banget ma karakter Felicia yang digambarkan bijak, krn begitu Red minta tolong sptnya dia yakin banget kalo Red n Linus memang saling cinta..
Tentang Red Mcgee dan Linus Hunt yang awalnya bertemu karena Red, aktris dr Aussie, datang ke rumah Felicia, ibu Linus, untuk belajar vokal. Setelah sempat mengira Linus adalah cowok simpanan Felicia, Red mulai terlibat dengan Linus saat Felicia meminta Red untuk tinggal bersamanya sebagai perawat dan asistennya selama Felicia sakit. Linus yg adalah pemilik sebuah production house tentu saja mencurigai niat asli Red dan selalu bersikap sinis. Demi mencegah Red memanfaatkan ibunya dan juga dengan alasan tidak yakin kalau Red akan menjaga ibunya dengan baik, maka Linus pun memutuskan juga tinggal di rumah ibunya. Ternyata setelah mengenal Red, Linus memutuskan membantu Red dengan syarat Red harus mengikuti berbagai kursus keterampilan yg dpt mendukung karirnya. Di suatu acara penghargaan, Linus yg mengajak Red bersamanya memenangkan salah satu award n didepan banyak org mencium Red saking bahagianya! Sewaktu di toilet tanpa sengaja Red mendengar 2 org wanita bergosip yg bilang bahwa Linus mencium Red hanya supaya membuat ce2 yg lagi pdkt ma Linus mundur. Diperparah lagi dengan salah satu aktris yg gak berhasil mndpt perhatian Linus malah meracuni pikiran Red dgn blg klo after Red jd aktris mk hidupnya akan selalu diatur oleh Linus. Tentu saja hal ini membuat Red merasa dimanfaatkan dan memancing pertengkaran antara mrk. Blm selesai masalah, datanglah ayah Red utk maksa Red kmbl k aussie dan dijodohkan dgn pria pilihan ayahnya. Red yang panik krn sebelumnya smpt bohong ma bokapnya dgn blg klo Linus adlh kekasihnya langsung saja nyewa aktor spy berpura2 jd Linus agar Red diijinkan tinggal. Ternyata...bokap Red dah duluan buat janji ma Linus, maka gagal deh rencana Red. But, tanpa diduga, Linus malah dgn santainya ikut ambil bagian dlm kebohongan Red..Hmm...apa maksudnya yaa..
**spoiler** Red yg panik minta tolong ma Felicia spy mau membantunya mendukung cerita Red bahwa dirinya memang kekasih Linus, n gak taunya Linus dan ibunya malah bekerjasama utk menjadikan Red kekasih Linus sungguhan..gw suka banget ma karakter Felicia yang digambarkan bijak, krn begitu Red minta tolong sptnya dia yakin banget kalo Red n Linus memang saling cinta..
June 9, 2010
Ini buku punya tante, bacanya nyolong-nyolong, karena untuk jaman itu ini sudah termasuk hot banget.
Padahal ceritanya asyik banget.
Lucu, karena ceweknya kalau ngomong logatnya Australia banget, sementara cowoknya perpaduan antara ganteng, arogan, sombong, suka meremehkan, tetapi di sisi lain juga romantis dan baik.
Dalam imajinasi gw saat itu ceweknya adalah Julia Roberts sedang cowoknya Pierce Brosnan.
Keren...
Padahal ceritanya asyik banget.
Lucu, karena ceweknya kalau ngomong logatnya Australia banget, sementara cowoknya perpaduan antara ganteng, arogan, sombong, suka meremehkan, tetapi di sisi lain juga romantis dan baik.
Dalam imajinasi gw saat itu ceweknya adalah Julia Roberts sedang cowoknya Pierce Brosnan.
Keren...
August 13, 2016
Light and entertaining read with strong feisty heroine and hero who is both sensitive and alpha (I know, it's almost impossible to pull but it works here). I like it when the hero falls in love first but can’t declare for fear of rejection.
December 31, 2012
bukuku hilang!
kalau yang dulu ngambil ini baca tolong dikembalikan!
update!
akhirnya beli buku sekennya, gapapa, yang penting punya lagi. YAY!
*segitucintanyasamabukujadulene*
kalau yang dulu ngambil ini baca tolong dikembalikan!
update!
akhirnya beli buku sekennya, gapapa, yang penting punya lagi. YAY!
*segitucintanyasamabukujadulene*
February 25, 2016
Good mills n boon
Feisty and kind heroine, strong hero. Overall it's not the best ever but if you're looking for a light mills n boon read, this is a goodie.
Feisty and kind heroine, strong hero. Overall it's not the best ever but if you're looking for a light mills n boon read, this is a goodie.
doubtful-because-not-v
February 15, 2019In name only?
Red McGee hadn't got her nickname for nothing. Her hair was as red-hot as her temper. Linus Hunt didn't particularly like her hair or her temper. He liked his life calm, orderly and businesslike. And Red was disorderly, chaotic and…well, just too passionate!
She had a tendency to act on impulse—but when Red told her father that she was engaged to Linus Hunt, she never dreamed that fiction would eventually become fact! Linus, it seemed, had already decided that an engagement would be a very convenient arrangement for them both!
Red McGee hadn't got her nickname for nothing. Her hair was as red-hot as her temper. Linus Hunt didn't particularly like her hair or her temper. He liked his life calm, orderly and businesslike. And Red was disorderly, chaotic and…well, just too passionate!
She had a tendency to act on impulse—but when Red told her father that she was engaged to Linus Hunt, she never dreamed that fiction would eventually become fact! Linus, it seemed, had already decided that an engagement would be a very convenient arrangement for them both!
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