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A Lake in Kyoto
She should have been happy to be back home... — Sue had been delighted when Luke Masters arranged her return to England. Now she was miserable. — Luke was a good organizer. She wondered if he'd organized their wedding yet. If so, he hadn't mentioned it -- and his ex-wife's words rang in Sue's ears. "He's adept at wriggling out of things at the last moment."
Surely he wouldn't, Sue told herself desperately. Luke was brave, honorable, everything a man should be. But, in reality, she didn't know Luke at all. Only that she loved him....
Surely he wouldn't, Sue told herself desperately. Luke was brave, honorable, everything a man should be. But, in reality, she didn't know Luke at all. Only that she loved him....
- GenresHarlequin RomanceRomance
186 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2018
Set in Japan and the Lake District, the grumpy business man hero manages to find a nubile 20 year-old heroine to warm his bed and take care of his son while fending off his evil ex-wife.
Thankfully, the heroine is somewhat sensible as she finds herself in one new situation after another. An English native, she has been living on an Australian farm with her aunt and uncle since her father died when she was 16. Her older brother moved to Japan for work. When the story opens the heroine has just arrived at the Tokyo airport for his wedding to a Japanese woman. Her brother is not there to meet her, but his boss, the hero, is.
For the next few chapters the heroine falls in love/lust with the grumpy hero who takes her on sightseeing tours. The title of the story refers to a lake that reminds the heroine of her family home in the Lake District of England. And by coincidence, the hero has a house in the Lake District and he needs a housekeeper to take of his son on the weekends. He then amends his idea and offers a loveless marriage, since love is a "sickness." Heroine turns him down because she wants love.
She does go to England with him and meets the son and falls into his bed without a word of protest. It's an interesting scene since it's so understated - no guilt, no hand-wringing, no traitorous body syndrome. The hero insists they marry since she was a virgin. Heroine is too in thrall to say no. The ex-wife turns up like a bad penny as the heroine fights jealousy, spends time with a neighboring OM, and jumps to conclusions when she calls the hero's flat in London and hears the OW's voice.
It all works out when
It's all kind of sweet and unexpected, since the hero has been a huge grump (all that driving, jet lag, and sexual tension) the entire story. But I honestly think that's just his personality. Heroine seems willing to enjoy the sex and living in her favorite part of the world. She's a very practical gal.
Thankfully, the heroine is somewhat sensible as she finds herself in one new situation after another. An English native, she has been living on an Australian farm with her aunt and uncle since her father died when she was 16. Her older brother moved to Japan for work. When the story opens the heroine has just arrived at the Tokyo airport for his wedding to a Japanese woman. Her brother is not there to meet her, but his boss, the hero, is.
For the next few chapters the heroine falls in love/lust with the grumpy hero who takes her on sightseeing tours. The title of the story refers to a lake that reminds the heroine of her family home in the Lake District of England. And by coincidence, the hero has a house in the Lake District and he needs a housekeeper to take of his son on the weekends. He then amends his idea and offers a loveless marriage, since love is a "sickness." Heroine turns him down because she wants love.
She does go to England with him and meets the son and falls into his bed without a word of protest. It's an interesting scene since it's so understated - no guilt, no hand-wringing, no traitorous body syndrome. The hero insists they marry since she was a virgin. Heroine is too in thrall to say no. The ex-wife turns up like a bad penny as the heroine fights jealousy, spends time with a neighboring OM, and jumps to conclusions when she calls the hero's flat in London and hears the OW's voice.
It all works out when
It's all kind of sweet and unexpected, since the hero has been a huge grump (all that driving, jet lag, and sexual tension) the entire story. But I honestly think that's just his personality. Heroine seems willing to enjoy the sex and living in her favorite part of the world. She's a very practical gal.
March 11, 2025
This was a somewhat problematic book.
The more was more than usually moody, grumpy, rude and downright manipulative. If this wasn't mills and boon-land, I would say he's pretty obviously grooming and abusing the heroine as his behaviour is extremely dodgy.
It starts with the heroine flying to Kyoto to attend her brother's wedding and being met by the hero, who immediately thinks she's a woman of low repute when she asks him for directions.
Her brother is in hospital, so he squires her around in a desultory way, with bad grace for a day or so, then asks her to be his housekeeper and look after his son while he's away in London all week (by this time, she has obviously, for no earthly reason, fallen in love with him). When she turns him down, because of course, it would be far too painful to live near him without love and much better to vanish entirely, he asks her for a marriage of convenience. She turns him down again, so he immediately tells her brother he has an announcement to make, forcing the heroine to trot out the housekeeper story because otherwise he'd announce the engagement and she'd clearly have to marry him (because of course, in M&B land, once the words are spoken, you will clearly have to get married).
The hero then makes our heroine leave her brother's wedding early, drags her to a remote house in the middle of nowhere, which, it turns out later has at least 5 bedrooms, and makes up a bed for himself, while she cooks dinner. He promptly forces her to share his bed as it's the only one that has been made up in the house.
The other woman (his ex-wife) turns up and is the standard one-dimensional bitch, who visits her son for the sole purpose of annoying the hero. Of course. And there's an attractive young man in the picture who goes round being nice to the heroine and actually telling her he likes her. The cad.
There's also a somewhat bizarre interlude where the heroine needs to stay in a guest house for a week as she can't stay alone in that big house (despite that being the only reason she came there), and she is made to hire a live-in housekeeper-gardening couple. This has no purpose and doesn't advance the plot at all.
All in all, a more interesting and sensible heroine than normal who deserves someone far nicer than the man she ends up with
The more was more than usually moody, grumpy, rude and downright manipulative. If this wasn't mills and boon-land, I would say he's pretty obviously grooming and abusing the heroine as his behaviour is extremely dodgy.
It starts with the heroine flying to Kyoto to attend her brother's wedding and being met by the hero, who immediately thinks she's a woman of low repute when she asks him for directions.
Her brother is in hospital, so he squires her around in a desultory way, with bad grace for a day or so, then asks her to be his housekeeper and look after his son while he's away in London all week (by this time, she has obviously, for no earthly reason, fallen in love with him). When she turns him down, because of course, it would be far too painful to live near him without love and much better to vanish entirely, he asks her for a marriage of convenience. She turns him down again, so he immediately tells her brother he has an announcement to make, forcing the heroine to trot out the housekeeper story because otherwise he'd announce the engagement and she'd clearly have to marry him (because of course, in M&B land, once the words are spoken, you will clearly have to get married).
The hero then makes our heroine leave her brother's wedding early, drags her to a remote house in the middle of nowhere, which, it turns out later has at least 5 bedrooms, and makes up a bed for himself, while she cooks dinner. He promptly forces her to share his bed as it's the only one that has been made up in the house.
The other woman (his ex-wife) turns up and is the standard one-dimensional bitch, who visits her son for the sole purpose of annoying the hero. Of course. And there's an attractive young man in the picture who goes round being nice to the heroine and actually telling her he likes her. The cad.
There's also a somewhat bizarre interlude where the heroine needs to stay in a guest house for a week as she can't stay alone in that big house (despite that being the only reason she came there), and she is made to hire a live-in housekeeper-gardening couple. This has no purpose and doesn't advance the plot at all.
All in all, a more interesting and sensible heroine than normal who deserves someone far nicer than the man she ends up with
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
November 12, 2022She should have been happy to be back home... — Sue had been delighted when Luke Masters arranged her return to England. Now she was miserable. — Luke was a good organizer. She wondered if he'd organized their wedding yet. If so, he hadn't mentioned it -- and his ex-wife's words rang in Sue's ears. "He's adept at wriggling out of things at the last moment."
Surely he wouldn't, Sue told herself desperately. Luke was brave, honorable, everything a man should be. But, in reality, she didn't know Luke at all. Only that she loved him
Surely he wouldn't, Sue told herself desperately. Luke was brave, honorable, everything a man should be. But, in reality, she didn't know Luke at all. Only that she loved him
August 5, 2023
Started off really well
but then midway it was a loss for me
I liked that the h was a simple sweet person but does she have to be so smitten with the H that she agrees to his schemes after first refusing.
I do hope the H loves the h but i still feel h should have waited few months for the relationship to develop and makes sure H is free from his virus as H said the virus (which was his ex wife) was in his blood for 10 years.
At times i did feel the H took h for granted.
but then midway it was a loss for me
I liked that the h was a simple sweet person but does she have to be so smitten with the H that she agrees to his schemes after first refusing.
I do hope the H loves the h but i still feel h should have waited few months for the relationship to develop and makes sure H is free from his virus as H said the virus (which was his ex wife) was in his blood for 10 years.
At times i did feel the H took h for granted.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews