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Love is a Dangerous Game
"After all, what have you got to lose?"
Kate had been asked that question when she'd been trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. At least she knew she was helping her brother and father.
But posing as Paul Caister's fiancee in Hong Kong was proving dangerous to her mental health. The man was impossible! And also, she found, surprisingly lovable....
Well, she had certainly lost her heart, captured by Paul. What else was left but heartache?
Kate had been asked that question when she'd been trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. At least she knew she was helping her brother and father.
But posing as Paul Caister's fiancee in Hong Kong was proving dangerous to her mental health. The man was impossible! And also, she found, surprisingly lovable....
Well, she had certainly lost her heart, captured by Paul. What else was left but heartache?
186 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1980
About the author
Marjorie Lewty
81 books19 followersMarjorie Lewty, née Lobb, was a British writer of short stories and over 45 romance novels from 1958 to 1999 to Mills & Boon.
She studied at Queen Mary High School in Liverpool, but her plans to study sciences at university were thwarted, when her father died. She was forced to take a hated job at secretary of the District Bank Ltd. from 1923 to 1933, when she married with Richard Arthur Lewty, a dental surgeon of Liverpool. They had one son and one daughter. After her marriage she began to write short stories which were published in magazines. In 1958, she sold her first romance novel to Mills & Boon, and her last novel in 1999.
She studied at Queen Mary High School in Liverpool, but her plans to study sciences at university were thwarted, when her father died. She was forced to take a hated job at secretary of the District Bank Ltd. from 1923 to 1933, when she married with Richard Arthur Lewty, a dental surgeon of Liverpool. They had one son and one daughter. After her marriage she began to write short stories which were published in magazines. In 1958, she sold her first romance novel to Mills & Boon, and her last novel in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 20, 2017
Kate Reynolds’s younger brother Jerry is caught stealing some money from the company he works for. His boss (Paul Caister) is considering firing him or prosecuting him and Jerry is supposed to meet Mr. Caister the next day to discuss what he plans to do to Jerry. Kate is worried about what this will do to her clergyman father, who has been having health problems and is told to avoid stress. So when Jerry gets ill when he is supposed to meet Mr. Caister Kate decides to go see Mr. Caister herself and persuade him not to prosecute Jerry. When Kate meets Paul Caister he makes a deal with her…he will not fire or prosecute her brother if she goes to Hong Kong with him for a month, posing as his fiancée. Kate agrees and they go to Hong Kong. While they are in Hong Kong they become attracted to each other, Kate falls for Paul, etc…
This was an OK read. I really liked the heroine Kate. She was nice, sweet, stood up at times to the hero Paul. She loved her family. Paul…he was sort of a cranky hero. He never really seemed to be happy or in a good mood. He wasn’t a terrible hero, but he always seemed impatient, irritable… I did like the Hong Kong setting.
An OK read from the 80’s.
This was an OK read. I really liked the heroine Kate. She was nice, sweet, stood up at times to the hero Paul. She loved her family. Paul…he was sort of a cranky hero. He never really seemed to be happy or in a good mood. He wasn’t a terrible hero, but he always seemed impatient, irritable… I did like the Hong Kong setting.
An OK read from the 80’s.
January 19, 2016
Charming tale of a fake engagement. Heroine will do anything to save her brother from prosecution. Hero needs a fiance to take with him to Hong Kong. Heroine gets a makeover - lots of lovely clothes descriptions, then she's off to Hong Kong. The setting could be a third character, and it's a lot of fun to read about. Heroine falls in love and tries to hide her feeling. There's a OW problem that gets cleared up. HEA
November 30, 2021
Fake engagement trope, yay for me.
I have only read a few books by Lewty, and I've liked them. She writes couples who have good chemistry and an immediacy to what they're doing. And (so far) her heroines stand up well to the ~masculine heroes, hold their own, as both run an uneven but inevitable path to HEA.
I was glad to have Hong Kong be a vibrant but thankfully not overly othered-and-Exotic backdrop for this one.
These two have an immediate spark, even when she's first introduced and mistaken as a dowdy girl who will be biddable in achieving the hero's ends. Something he's loathe to admit, but she gets under his skin right away and he won't be free of her from here on out. Nice. She proves herself game and anything-but-meek, without undergoing any brittle change or huge transformation. It's more she finds her confidence and own desires, and even with the seeming promise of heartbreak, decides to go after it. Nice.
And the usual "misconception to create conflict" isn't quite so well-trod and usual, is resolved in a lovely way, and the heroine doesn't fall for any of the other usual pitfalls until the final iteration. I wanted a little more out of the ending (I'm spoiled by all the JSteele's I read, lol), but good and satisfying all in.
The hero finally giving in to exhaustion--once he has her and is sure of her--then waking so relieved she's still there? Very nice.
A few things the hero says that made modern me momentarily whither -- but it's also wonderfully fine to embrace these books for what they are and enjoy them without worry over critical deconstruction (and if that aspect is simply going to annoy or anger you [which, valid same as enjoying them is], what are you even doing here).
I have only read a few books by Lewty, and I've liked them. She writes couples who have good chemistry and an immediacy to what they're doing. And (so far) her heroines stand up well to the ~masculine heroes, hold their own, as both run an uneven but inevitable path to HEA.
I was glad to have Hong Kong be a vibrant but thankfully not overly othered-and-Exotic backdrop for this one.
These two have an immediate spark, even when she's first introduced and mistaken as a dowdy girl who will be biddable in achieving the hero's ends. Something he's loathe to admit, but she gets under his skin right away and he won't be free of her from here on out. Nice. She proves herself game and anything-but-meek, without undergoing any brittle change or huge transformation. It's more she finds her confidence and own desires, and even with the seeming promise of heartbreak, decides to go after it. Nice.
And the usual "misconception to create conflict" isn't quite so well-trod and usual, is resolved in a lovely way, and the heroine doesn't fall for any of the other usual pitfalls until the final iteration. I wanted a little more out of the ending (I'm spoiled by all the JSteele's I read, lol), but good and satisfying all in.
The hero finally giving in to exhaustion--once he has her and is sure of her--then waking so relieved she's still there? Very nice.
A few things the hero says that made modern me momentarily whither -- but it's also wonderfully fine to embrace these books for what they are and enjoy them without worry over critical deconstruction (and if that aspect is simply going to annoy or anger you [which, valid same as enjoying them is], what are you even doing here).
August 27, 2023
One of the best I’ve read by ML. Several of her other romances end with ambiguity about the H and the HEA. Not here, solid love story with Hong Kong setting.
May 1, 2007
I have a thing for Harlequin Romance paperback covers. I have a collection of hundreds. Every now and then, I attempt to read the book behind the cover. I picked this one because it takes place in Hong Kong and I'm going there in September for a wedding--how romantic! I learned alot about the island, the people, and the customs, as well as how to act when you're pretending to be the fiancee of a bid-deal business guy that surprisingly you've lost your heart to but you don't think he's in love with you because how could he be but actually he is but then his ex shows up and then...
April 28, 2025
first to say i enjoyed reading this lol
complete story à la fifty shades of grey - at some time i actually thought this may have been an inspiration. it's a pretty easy read and i was surprised that i got so into the story eventhough the characters were so shallow and you basically know what's going to happen when you read the first 10 pages.
It's an old book and those kind of love stories don't really age well i guess - the main lobe interest of the heroin is a masochistic toxic male that looks super sexy and could have every woman and the heroin herself is the grey mouse winning him over changing her whole identity. It's a good read to realise how much further we are in storytelling and narratives nowadays.
the ending left me blank - i had the feeling of fifty shades of grey but there was not one explocit sex scene lol at least that could have happened to satisfy the little rest of interest in the story
complete story à la fifty shades of grey - at some time i actually thought this may have been an inspiration. it's a pretty easy read and i was surprised that i got so into the story eventhough the characters were so shallow and you basically know what's going to happen when you read the first 10 pages.
It's an old book and those kind of love stories don't really age well i guess - the main lobe interest of the heroin is a masochistic toxic male that looks super sexy and could have every woman and the heroin herself is the grey mouse winning him over changing her whole identity. It's a good read to realise how much further we are in storytelling and narratives nowadays.
the ending left me blank - i had the feeling of fifty shades of grey but there was not one explocit sex scene lol at least that could have happened to satisfy the little rest of interest in the story
May 31, 2026
Gosh, the heroine was dull. Spineless and pathetic, I mean she started with a backbone and determined to fight for her brother. Suddenly, she’s obsessed trying to impress the hero and cares too much what she looked like, what she shall wear and do about him. Her lame life then revolves around him. Yes, she might have just fallen in love with the hero after all that mocked determination and a strong-willed. Geez, the chemistry and intimacy was so bad. It occurs all over the place, high and low, no concrete foundation nor buildup. It felt entirely forced and unnatural. Dnf.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
November 13, 2020"After all, what have you got to lose?"
Kate had been asked that question when she'd been trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. At least she knew she was helping her brother and father.
But posing as Paul Caister's fiancee in Hong Kong was proving dangerous to her mental health. The man was impossible! And also, she found, surprisingly lovable....
Well, she had certainly lost her heart, captured by Paul. What else was left but heartache?
Kate had been asked that question when she'd been trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. At least she knew she was helping her brother and father.
But posing as Paul Caister's fiancee in Hong Kong was proving dangerous to her mental health. The man was impossible! And also, she found, surprisingly lovable....
Well, she had certainly lost her heart, captured by Paul. What else was left but heartache?
July 23, 2024
This is my first romance by Ms. Lewty, and it was a delight. Paul and Kate start out on the wrong foot but brought together more intimately, their chemistry starts to sizzle. Kate's a great heroine, she's got back bone and stands up to Paul, which unbalances him. There's an interfering other woman who likes to stir and does cause a bit of trouble. This is a charming romance with great characters and a very enjoyable HEA.
August 7, 2017
Abominable.
July 1, 2022
This was mainly a travelogue of Colonial Hong Kong. Heroine was sweet! This didn't have enough angst for my taste.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews