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Man-Hater
149pages. poche. Broché.
190 pages, Paperback
Published December 15, 1983
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,132 books672 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 30, 2022
I don`t know if its me having read many PJ`s with destructive "frigid" heroines who despises the whole opposite sex...but Kelly Langdon from "Man-Hater" really made my head hurt. Gosh the way she snaps, scream, cries and goes way past in time remembering with a heart break what her dead husband caused her, just made me cringe the way she threw all her pain on the hero so unfairly. Just after she responded to his love-making she retorts to not wanting him, and that made me want to shake her head off. It all became so repetitive that i simply thought her stupid and undeserving of the heroes affections. What the hell did he even see in her?
And poor hero, Jake Fielding had taken on the role as a escort who fights for Kelly`s love throughout the story. I knew directly he was a tycoon, but he had let Kelly misunderstand him being a escort just to be close to her, so freaking adorable! Its usually heroes who insults heroines of being tramps and gold-diggers, but in this book it was the other way around due to Kelly thinking that Jake was poor and had to get paid for services as a escort. I also love his honesty and how he forced Kelly out of her inner cell, and to descover about closeness, need and passion...and above it love. For thinking he was suffering unrequited love he did sure have little pride and still insisted on wooing her, despite thinking its useless. That Kelly went after him in the end made me like her better, she finally choose to fight for her happiness instead of running away from it like a coward due to pride and fear of rejection. Jake Fielding may have been a too over intense hero (but most of them usually are) but damn how i loved his character anyway, he loved her so much that he wanted her love for who she thought him were. This is a very enjoyable romance anyway, except my little rant from the start. Well, its Penny Jordan anyway. She has her own way of writing however predictable.
And poor hero, Jake Fielding had taken on the role as a escort who fights for Kelly`s love throughout the story. I knew directly he was a tycoon, but he had let Kelly misunderstand him being a escort just to be close to her, so freaking adorable! Its usually heroes who insults heroines of being tramps and gold-diggers, but in this book it was the other way around due to Kelly thinking that Jake was poor and had to get paid for services as a escort. I also love his honesty and how he forced Kelly out of her inner cell, and to descover about closeness, need and passion...and above it love. For thinking he was suffering unrequited love he did sure have little pride and still insisted on wooing her, despite thinking its useless. That Kelly went after him in the end made me like her better, she finally choose to fight for her happiness instead of running away from it like a coward due to pride and fear of rejection. Jake Fielding may have been a too over intense hero (but most of them usually are) but damn how i loved his character anyway, he loved her so much that he wanted her love for who she thought him were. This is a very enjoyable romance anyway, except my little rant from the start. Well, its Penny Jordan anyway. She has her own way of writing however predictable.
September 17, 2019
Heroine is a man-hater for good reason. Her first husband married her for her sudden inheritance and violently tried to rape her on their wedding night so the marriage could consummated and he could have half her money after the divorce. Heroine fought him off and then he conveniently died in a car accident.
Since then the heroine has started her own business and has walled herself off from people - even friends. However, heroine's bff has just had a miscarriage and is feeling low. Unfortunately her husband (OM) is a creep and keeps hitting on the heroine. She decides to hire an escort for the weekend as protection against the OM.
Hero just happens to be standing in the lobby of the escort agency when the heroine enters in her purple velvet suit (so 80's!). He is instantly smitten and plays along with the escort role.
The H/h share a room during the weekend and also spend a week in Corfu with the bff and OM. It's a party in Corfu where the hero's true identity is revealed and OM manages to lie to both the H/h.
Finally, there is a disastrous trip to Scotland for more misunderstandings before the heroine finally tracks the hero down in London.
So lots of to-and-fro in this one. The heroine is preyed on by the OM and the host of the party in Corfu - so lots of triggers. Hero doesn't know the whole story of the heroine for a long time so his speeches about her "frigidity" are cringey as well. Bff is pregnant again and stuck with the OM - so that's disappointing.
Since then the heroine has started her own business and has walled herself off from people - even friends. However, heroine's bff has just had a miscarriage and is feeling low. Unfortunately her husband (OM) is a creep and keeps hitting on the heroine. She decides to hire an escort for the weekend as protection against the OM.
Hero just happens to be standing in the lobby of the escort agency when the heroine enters in her purple velvet suit (so 80's!). He is instantly smitten and plays along with the escort role.
The H/h share a room during the weekend and also spend a week in Corfu with the bff and OM. It's a party in Corfu where the hero's true identity is revealed and OM manages to lie to both the H/h.
Finally, there is a disastrous trip to Scotland for more misunderstandings before the heroine finally tracks the hero down in London.
So lots of to-and-fro in this one. The heroine is preyed on by the OM and the host of the party in Corfu - so lots of triggers. Hero doesn't know the whole story of the heroine for a long time so his speeches about her "frigidity" are cringey as well. Bff is pregnant again and stuck with the OM - so that's disappointing.
January 18, 2016
Good story. Heroine was a vulnerable woman who has been hurt a lot and hero a loving man who made her believe in love again .
July 26, 2019
"Man-Hater" is the story of Kelly and Jake.
Yup, this was one of those books where the pretty and broken heroine got raped by almost all male characters in the book. The hero was quite a relief, and kind of obsessed with her, but even he had temper tantrums.
Just lots of drama in its overall average-ness.
Meh.
Safe
2/5
Yup, this was one of those books where the pretty and broken heroine got raped by almost all male characters in the book. The hero was quite a relief, and kind of obsessed with her, but even he had temper tantrums.
Just lots of drama in its overall average-ness.
Meh.
Safe
2/5
September 23, 2019
Mediocre!
November 12, 2016
She was left a fortune at 19 by her grandfather who lived a comfortable life. She was an orphan and was raised by her grandparents. One of the junior accountants in her grandfather's accountant office started paying attention to her the day she found out about her inheritance and courting her for few months. He made her buy a very expensive estate in need of work outside the city after he proposed and she spent lots of money to fix it. He also had her sign documents one of which unknown to her give him the house title as his wedding gift. They had a small wedding with only few people present. When she was getting ready for bed on the night they got married, she heard a woman voice talking to her husband and found out the creep she married had a mistress and in six months time from the day they married all her fortune would be transferred to him and he has planned to divorce her at that time. He was deplorable and used nasty words about her appearance . She confronted him and told him she has heard everything and to get out and she was going to annul their marriage. He grabbed her, took her to her bedroom, hit her and attempted to rape her but couldn't get it up which by the way he blamed on her being frigid and an ice maiden. He left and died in a car accident on his way to his mistress. She decided men were pigs and she didn't need them. She put her time and energy in establishing a profitable business venture.
Few years later she needed a man to accompany her to her best friend's house for a weekend visit. Her friend's husband was another deplorable pig. He harassed her anytime his wife wasn't around. Since she had no male friend she decided to hire an escort.
He had no idea what she had suffered until the end. The friend's husband broke them apart for a while by lying to both of them.
Few years later she needed a man to accompany her to her best friend's house for a weekend visit. Her friend's husband was another deplorable pig. He harassed her anytime his wife wasn't around. Since she had no male friend she decided to hire an escort.
He had no idea what she had suffered until the end. The friend's husband broke them apart for a while by lying to both of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2018
Loved this! A keeper.
March 15, 2018
Good story, a reasonable amount of angst and decent H/h. The meṅ of this book though (with the exception of the H) were absolutely terrible. I've never seen so many villains in a single romance plot. The ex husband/the best friend's husband/the random millionaire the h was unfortunate enough to meet with were all pathetic to say the least. And it was certainly quite understandable for her to be a 'man-hater' given those people around her. Three stars!
September 15, 2015
I enjoyed it! It was more believable that she would still be a virgin after all the crap that she went through. I loved how he was with her. Respectful and loving. It was awesome. I can see them living happy forever. Great read.
May 30, 2016
Do not, do not read this book if you are a feminist.
This has to be the most sexist book I have ever read. Heroine is a rape survivor with numerous traumatic experiences in her past. Hero is a male chauvinist who accused heroine of being uptight event though he knows about her rape. Hero believes sex with him will magically cure heroine. Heroine's best friend's husband openly hits on heroine and calls her frigid and best friend is too stupid to realise it. Every man heroine runs into calls her an ice queen and wants to rape her. The word frigid is thrown about fast and loose. Apparently successful heroine cannot string five words together to tell best friend's husband to f*** off. Every body needs therapy.
And Penny Jordan needs to realise that women are not idiots.
This has to be the most sexist book I have ever read. Heroine is a rape survivor with numerous traumatic experiences in her past. Hero is a male chauvinist who accused heroine of being uptight event though he knows about her rape. Hero believes sex with him will magically cure heroine. Heroine's best friend's husband openly hits on heroine and calls her frigid and best friend is too stupid to realise it. Every man heroine runs into calls her an ice queen and wants to rape her. The word frigid is thrown about fast and loose. Apparently successful heroine cannot string five words together to tell best friend's husband to f*** off. Every body needs therapy.
And Penny Jordan needs to realise that women are not idiots.
March 3, 2016
3.75 stars. I enjoyed the story and the deception. Naturally I already knew the H was not who he said he was and was anticipating the reveal. I only gave it 3.75 stars because after 75% of the book it got a little slowish - I felt it was taking too long for this happy ending. Also slightly disappointed that the HEA was a little rushed. The h was slightly annoying - not for her hangups because I'm sure I'd feel the same way after such a betrayal - but I can't believe she isn't telling her friend the true nature of her husband's character! Other than that, I enjoyed reading it. Loved the H thought he was sweet. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2016
Good premise. Spicy hero - an escort , a hunk who women take along to events and parties. Sounds deliciously naughty.
She is a rich heiress and a hot shot business woman too. Too bad , she suffers a pathetic con job in her first marriage. Result - she hates men, thinks all men are after her money.
She needs to visit her long time friend and her lecherous husband. Idea - take an escort along. The hero happily plays the part, more than convincingly. The heroine is flustered by his charm but obviously thinks he is a gold digger too.
I felt the good premise was rather wasted in a jerky narration. Lack of continuity in scenes. Hasty narration of her past, and not placed at the right place. She also acts overly paranoid. She needs therapy more than a hot hunk by her side.
3 stars simply because of the hero.
She is a rich heiress and a hot shot business woman too. Too bad , she suffers a pathetic con job in her first marriage. Result - she hates men, thinks all men are after her money.
She needs to visit her long time friend and her lecherous husband. Idea - take an escort along. The hero happily plays the part, more than convincingly. The heroine is flustered by his charm but obviously thinks he is a gold digger too.
I felt the good premise was rather wasted in a jerky narration. Lack of continuity in scenes. Hasty narration of her past, and not placed at the right place. She also acts overly paranoid. She needs therapy more than a hot hunk by her side.
3 stars simply because of the hero.
April 10, 2018
Not one of my favourite PJ books but not one of the worst I've read either. Our h was conned by ex husband and attacked for her spondoolies so she has trust issues in addition to that her best friends husband is a complete tool who tries it on with her. Cue trying to hire an escort for the weekend to protect herself. Naturally our H is not an escort but pretends to be so he can get in the h's pants heart because for him its love at first sight. Cue misunderstanding and melodrama and interfering others before we get our HEA. And poor bestie is still stuck with numptie husband where's the justice?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2011
Okay...she just needed therapy. Of course, if she had done that we wouldn't have what had all the potential to be a really good book and just fell short for me. There was too much craziness, too much alpha male for a wounded woman.
September 4, 2012
Alright but nothing really like the description. I liked the hero when he was bringing the heroine out of her funk but didn't really like the heroine, she was way too destructive to herself.
April 24, 2024
As a big Hitchcock fan and a male writer, I hold no prejudice towards romance. I'll be using it in some future projects. But I find that I need to read both good AND bad romance in order to get a good idea of what people expect from romance writing, and ironically, reading bad romance has left me with some decent tips as to what not to do. Twilight is a good example of this, although I would never in a million years consider it to be the worst book I've ever read, as there's some merit in Ed and Bella's explorations. But I had criticisms aside from the length of the novels, namely the fact that Bella and Ed's romance was built on some uncomfortable teenage bickering.
So what does this have to do with Man-Hater? Well, first, lemme say that I picked this up because there's no way a company like Harlequin could put out so many romance books so often without putting out a lot of crap, right? Same logic as soap operas. And since these books are short, I went headfirst into this. And OH MY GOD was I right about the assumption.
So our protag, Kelly, is the titular character because of her abusive relationship and has become a misandrist. With her bad luck, she's met plenty of abusive rich men in the short course of this book. And her big lesson to learn is that not all men are abusive, so technically there's a character flaw she must overcome for the sake of her own well-being as well as her romantic interests (no pun intended). So I'm fine with this plot. But once again... OH MY GOD does everyone in the book have to be so utterly contemptuous and bitter? 80% of the dialogue is practically hateful arguing that makes the teenage snarkiness between Ed and Bella look like masterful writing. If sparks fly because of opposites attract, then I have to say that this book even made the fights between Sam and Diane from Cheers comfortable, and I saw every episode of Cheers, including the reunion special.
So this book is totally thrown together and predictable, the characters are impossible to like, and whatever romantic or maybe horny scenes come are thrown in immediately after another uncomfortable fight. I'll read earlier Penny Jordan novels soon, but after reading this I get the feeling that Jordan isn't currently in a good emotional spot. I've never felt so uncomfortable reading a novel before. Its only saving grace is decent prose. That's all.
So what does this have to do with Man-Hater? Well, first, lemme say that I picked this up because there's no way a company like Harlequin could put out so many romance books so often without putting out a lot of crap, right? Same logic as soap operas. And since these books are short, I went headfirst into this. And OH MY GOD was I right about the assumption.
So our protag, Kelly, is the titular character because of her abusive relationship and has become a misandrist. With her bad luck, she's met plenty of abusive rich men in the short course of this book. And her big lesson to learn is that not all men are abusive, so technically there's a character flaw she must overcome for the sake of her own well-being as well as her romantic interests (no pun intended). So I'm fine with this plot. But once again... OH MY GOD does everyone in the book have to be so utterly contemptuous and bitter? 80% of the dialogue is practically hateful arguing that makes the teenage snarkiness between Ed and Bella look like masterful writing. If sparks fly because of opposites attract, then I have to say that this book even made the fights between Sam and Diane from Cheers comfortable, and I saw every episode of Cheers, including the reunion special.
So this book is totally thrown together and predictable, the characters are impossible to like, and whatever romantic or maybe horny scenes come are thrown in immediately after another uncomfortable fight. I'll read earlier Penny Jordan novels soon, but after reading this I get the feeling that Jordan isn't currently in a good emotional spot. I've never felt so uncomfortable reading a novel before. Its only saving grace is decent prose. That's all.
June 4, 2017
I have to remind myself that this book was written more than 30 years ago in 1983.
It offered me a glimpse of England back in the days...it was interesting to read Kelly bought a snood from Liberty for her hair...is that old fashioned or what haha. The amazing thing is Liberty is still in London today 2017 and I have been there twice before in 2014 and 2015!
What's shocking to me were the sensibilities and how men could get away with calling Kelly 'frigid'/'bitch' in front of other people *gasp* Women's rights have come a long way...
The good friend Sue was TSTL...too stupid to live. While she may not be rich like Kelly it sounded like her father was not poor either. She should have left her cheating husband long ago! Why none of her friends or Kelly could tell her what a creep and loser Jeremy was I won't know...but in a way I can understand Kelly's reluctance to jeopardise the friendship. But that Jeremy really got on my nerves! At least Collin got his just desserts but Jeremy didn't!
Worse was both Jake and Kelly chose to listen to him resulting in the miscommunication and kind of big misunderstanding.
Jake...as a hero I had issues with him thinking sex with him would cure Kelly of her problems with men and intimacy. He could be sweet and tender but at times he could be a jerk too.
Imagine Kelly had not bumped into Lyn...she and Jake might never knew the truth and their true feelings for each other.
PS. Pink seemed to be a womanly colour because Kelly was buying all these pink dresses when she's ready to be more womanly lol
It offered me a glimpse of England back in the days...it was interesting to read Kelly bought a snood from Liberty for her hair...is that old fashioned or what haha. The amazing thing is Liberty is still in London today 2017 and I have been there twice before in 2014 and 2015!
What's shocking to me were the sensibilities and how men could get away with calling Kelly 'frigid'/'bitch' in front of other people *gasp* Women's rights have come a long way...
The good friend Sue was TSTL...too stupid to live. While she may not be rich like Kelly it sounded like her father was not poor either. She should have left her cheating husband long ago! Why none of her friends or Kelly could tell her what a creep and loser Jeremy was I won't know...but in a way I can understand Kelly's reluctance to jeopardise the friendship. But that Jeremy really got on my nerves! At least Collin got his just desserts but Jeremy didn't!
Worse was both Jake and Kelly chose to listen to him resulting in the miscommunication and kind of big misunderstanding.
Jake...as a hero I had issues with him thinking sex with him would cure Kelly of her problems with men and intimacy. He could be sweet and tender but at times he could be a jerk too.
Imagine Kelly had not bumped into Lyn...she and Jake might never knew the truth and their true feelings for each other.
PS. Pink seemed to be a womanly colour because Kelly was buying all these pink dresses when she's ready to be more womanly lol
September 30, 2024
Enjoyable read. The mistaken identity trope is vastly underrated. I didn't judge the H too harshly for his interactions/handling of situations with the h because she was so damaged from past trauma that she didn't even know any other way to be or any other way to react although she was extremely judgemental with some comments and he was IMO pretty patient in responding with genuine humor.
I think my high rating comes from the touching scene when she finally (finally) tells all from the past before they have sex (my bad...make love!) although we know there's more heartache to come cause there's still like 30 pages left. Also I think this is one of the few books by PJ that I've read so far where at the end there was a conclusive well verbalized conversation about their feelings and how they both handled things wrong and it just made the book feel so much more complete.
Side note, on the fence about if she's a very good friend for trying to protect the bff or a horrible friend for not trying to make the bff see what a friggin that waffle she married.
I think my high rating comes from the touching scene when she finally (finally) tells all from the past before they have sex (my bad...make love!) although we know there's more heartache to come cause there's still like 30 pages left. Also I think this is one of the few books by PJ that I've read so far where at the end there was a conclusive well verbalized conversation about their feelings and how they both handled things wrong and it just made the book feel so much more complete.
Side note, on the fence about if she's a very good friend for trying to protect the bff or a horrible friend for not trying to make the bff see what a friggin that waffle she married.
August 6, 2018
I loved it, it's a beautifull story that allow us to belive that all the mankin are not bad, even if you are sourrounded with the most hateful ones, even there will appear a really good one, a keper.!!
December 26, 2024
The book was fine to read, and don't get me wrong, I love my Mills and Boon novels, but this one just felt eh, and it probably didn't help that Jake was passive-aggressive and undermined Kelly all the time. Like I said, love my Mills and Boon, just didn't vibe as much with this one.
August 30, 2018
It’s all about trust.
July 28, 2019
3 stars for the Hero. I felt the heroine was stupid. She could just forget about the past and be strong otherwise it would be an Ok read
September 20, 2019
A great book
February 20, 2021
Si nota che si tratta di un romanzo rosa degli anni 80 ma se m'imbatto nei libri di Penny Jordan non posso fare a meno di leggerli.
June 22, 2021
Kelly was an ice maiden with a heart of glass. Her disastrous marriage had left her deeply suspicious of men. She knew all too well that her looks - along with a sizeable inheritance - made her an attractive target for fortune hunters. She was determined not to be fooled again. So she became a workaholic who spent nights alone. There was no reason to think Jake Fielding was any different. In fact, he was a man who made a living as an escort for lonely women. But could Kelly really deny the feelings that were stirring inside her?
April 10, 2026
Read it long back and reread it recently. It was engaging though different from what I expected. Values change and so does outlook so back then it was like the best thing to read. Now with awareness it seemed the hero was rather entitled but all in all a sweet passionate story.
December 17, 2009
Ha! This didn't age well.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews