Bitter Revenge

by Lilian Peake

She could not shake the tragic past...
Carla still had nightmares, even after three years. But tragic as her fiance, Crispin's, death had been, another face haunted her waking mind.

For on that fateful night when Carla had broken her engagement to Crispin, she had also seen his older brother Blaze for the first time.

Now, down on her luck and finding herself ironically in Blaze's care, Carla could no longer deny the love she felt for him. But neither could she know how he planned to avenge his brother.

Genres: Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Enemies To Lovers

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Lilian Margaret Peake was born on 25 May 1924 in London, England, UK. During the World War II, she moved to the countryside.

Her early ambition was to be a journalist, and she ended up working at various newspapers and magazines around England. She also married and started a family, and eventually she decided start to writing romance novels. She wrote over 65 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1971 to 1996 as Lilian Peake.

Lilian passed away in 27 May 1997.

Reviews

[Ivy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel stirred up a lot of mixed emotions in me. At times I hated every single character in this story and at times I hated the story itself. Carla, the heroine of this story has made a career of letting the entire world and his relatives kick her down into the dumps. Downtrodden is too good a word to describe the condition of this girl's pathetic existence when the story starts. She's just lost her job working as a minimum wage shop assistant, her brother Nigel kicks her out of his house because his girlfriend Pauline is pregnant and they need Carla's room for the baby. It was beyond cruel what her brother did. Does he not have a sofa/couch for his sister to sleep on ? His kid wouldn't be born for at least 7 months yet he tells his unemployed sister to get out in 2 weeks' time. He doesn't care that she has nowhere to go because their parents are away on a long vacation and there's no mention of her living in her parents' home ( I assume they must still have one). Anyway, Carla's life begins to assume a story line that seems to resemble the theatre of the absurd rather than a romance novel.

A lot of the angst in this novel stems from Carla's previous engagement to a guy called Crispin. This had been 3 yrs earlier when she was only 17. The H is Crispin's older brother Blaze. The H blames Carla for his brother's death in a car accident. Blaze views Carla as a seductress who wove a web of evil lust that consumed his little brother:




He had wrongly assumed that she had been driving because when she and Crispin had left the party, she had been at the wheel. Blaze was unaware that Crispin had bullied Carla into stopping the car so his drunk and stupid ass could drive. Carla should have walked instead of getting back into the car with a drunk driver but this girl is not very smart. She proves that consistently throughout the rest of the novel, with all the TSTL things she does and the asinine decisions she makes. Blaze is a cruel asshole and that's me being complimentary:




He treats her horribly: there's a scene where she is on the small old cabin cruiser boat that she is living on ( after her brother kicked her out ) where he physically shakes her around as if she is a rag doll. It was very demeaning. The girl had nowhere to go and he uses his legal authority as the owner of the mooring area to bully her when she's sick and starving. Carla is literally burning up with fever and has no money to buy food or pay for a doctor's visit. It is only when she almost collapses that the bastard lifts her up and takes her into his lakeside mansion:



The condescension continues after she becomes a "guest" in his home. All her clothing on the old boat is ruined so what does Blaze do? He loans her his penis polisher's clothing. Yup, you heard me: he loans her clothing that belongs to his neighbour/sometimes mistress/always a doting penis polisher called Janetta Horner:




This woman Janetta is one of the vilest, most sickening, nasty, neurotic, obsessive, delusional and bitchy evil OW I've encountered recently in a romance novel. I just remembered I should have mentioned the strangest wedding and marriage happens between the MC's. Blaze had basically ordered Carla to marry him. She kept saying no but still continued her spineless desperate yearning for his kisses. Then they argue, he locks her in her room and tells her she won't be allowed out until she agrees to marry him. The MC's relationship is so rocky and filled with conflict that they're like this cat and dog that keep nagging each other:



Oh and the kind housekeeper Ellen is his co-conspirator; Ellen believes in her addled, romantic mind that she's doing the poor heroine a favour. Then the MC's have sex, Blaze tells her she will marry him and she smiles like a besotted dummy and agrees because she is in love. It's a new incarnation of that old syndrome that has felled many a juvenile female heart: Love via orgasmic bliss. It's just a pity that the love seems to be a bit one sided:



This dog is smarter than Carla, because at least he thinks it safer to stay away from something he can't trust - even though it looks harmless. Lol.




This is the asshole H, Blaze:



This is the TSTL heroine, Carla:



I swear that this H showed signs of a schizo or bi polar personality. One minute he is horrible, then he is sweet and almost poetic then he is menacing again and accusing her of killing his brother. It's like a vicious cycle with these two. Their wedding night is spoiled when Janetta turns up shouting loudly and saying stuff that causes Carla to put on her oldest suit of clothing, hightail it out of the mansion and go to stay on the boat. Why do heroines always have to wear their most dowdy outfit when they're leaving the H? Why not leave in style, with a chin raised defiantly and shoulders erect with pride ? The scene that follows is one that is really tormenting for the heroine. Blaze turns up on the boat, forcibly seduces her then leaves her after. He LEAVES HER on an old boat with no food ! She might have made her bed by leaving him but his actions were contemptible. Carla needed to read The Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World because this girl was CLUELESS when it came to battling all the bastards and bitches she had to handle in her short lifetime. She thought she had gotten the upper hand on Blaze by leaving him on their wedding night. Then he comes, makes her have sex with him and leaves her in the dark, musty, boat ( with no food ! ) as if she's just some whore he's bedded. His parting comment proved that he knew exactly what he was doing too:


" He raked her with his gaze. 'Shouldn't you cover yourself?'

Carla was glad he couldn't see the colour stain her cheeks. How much more was he going to humiliate her? He turned to the pile of her clothes, scooped them up and dropped them, item by item, along her white body. It was a mocking gesture, coloured with contempt.

He was at the cabin door. Only then did he answer her question.

'Yes, I'm walking out on you. You walked out on me, so why shouldn't I reciprocate?' His mouth curved sardonically. 'See you around some time.' "

That scene was all kinds of F up ! These two seemed to share nothing but intense sexual chemistry. I couldn't feel the love. Carla also did some really dumbass things such as going out on dates with Janetta's lecherous brother, even after the sleazy guy forcibly kissed her and pushed himself on her. This girl had no brains, no common sense and no sense of self preservation. All she seemed to want to do was to battle with Blaze and so, if Blaze was having cosy little "business" dates with Janetta then she would continue to date the OW's near rapist brother. Blaze even showed his own signs of utter stupidity because Rolf and Janetta both worked for his competitor yet he allowed the OW to type in his home office. Then when Rolf almost sabotages an important meeting for Blaze, the asshole H blames Carla and accuses her of giving Rolf insider information. *Sigh*... The asshole forgets conveniently, that HE is the one who had given the bitch carte blanche by allowing her to come and go in his study freely. There was only ONE instance where Carla actually stands up to Janetta and it deserves highlighting since it's perhaps her single show of pride and real defiance:



" Janetta sneered, 'It's what you do with "the basics" that counts, isn't it? I've been the female in his life for a long time. I know his needs, and I can satisfy them. I have experience on my side.'

'That's one of my weapons, Miss Horner. I'm fresh and new—still something of an unknown quantity, even to my husband. I have that elusive but essential thing called "mystery". When a man knows a woman as well as you allege Blaze knows you, the seventh veil has gone, hasn't it? There's nothing left to discover.'

Janetta seemed to find it difficult to speak. Her scarlet cheeks and brilliantly hard eyes revealed her inner fury. 'You'll see,' she muttered, 'I'll win, you'll lose!' She grabbed her baggage and walked out. "


Yeah right ! As if that donkey douchebag Blaze is some prize ! In spite of all the angst and all the TSTL issues that cropped up with both MC's, I would have rated this novel higher had there been some comeuppance for the troublemaking duo of Rolf and Janetta. Blaze, after all his show of cruelty to Carla for what he thought she had done to his brother, ended up being a big p***y because Rolf and his witchy sister got absolutely no punishment for their sabotage and the stealing of insider information. The asshole H even said he would consider hiring Rolf after he bought the company for which Rolf worked ! The reconciliation and "HEA" didn't appear sincere to me personally. Blaze did NO grovelling. The dummy heroine just did what she has done consistently: she smiled and told him she loved him. The End. In my opinion, Blaze would probably keep having his bi polar moments and she would continue to retaliate by going out on "dates" with wannabe rapists like Rolf.

Thank God they have no little dogs to live in that horrible atmosphere and God help the kids they'll eventually have.

The only victim of "Bitter Revenge" in this story is this reader for duping herself into thinking this might be actually filled with exciting and sexy angst. If I had a wish for this H, it would be for him to be dumped by the heroine who leaves him while he is listening to Don Dokken sing that old power ballad "Alone Again" while he cries like a baby for the loss of his true love. ( And I'm not mocking that old '80's power rock ballad because I was probably conceived while it was playing on my dad's cassette player ...Lol )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHgY5...


Safety: There is a vile OW but it didn't appear that the H was still involved with her. There is also a nasty wannabe OM.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an odd book. The hero was crazy. Bipolar even. I was wanting to get him on Lithium and more than that he needed a white jacket with one very long arm plus a padded cell. Scary is the only word I can th I k of. And she was an idiot too. She knows he hates Rolf being with her and she keeps seeing and talking to him. And his ex lover is all over him too. Talk about a warped romance, this one had it in spades.I

She was engaged to his brother three years ago and she broke it off one night, he drank too much and they crashed and he died. Hero hates h, or does he and wants to get revenge. So he marries her! Such punishment! He's a billionaire and handsome and great in bed. Poor thing will just have to suffer through it. Stupid premise for sure and all the misunderstandings just made me cringe. Not something I would want to read again.

[Aou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too awful MCs but it was a kind of fun to read all nonsense! Lol

[April Brookshire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should've been titled The Dickhead and the Doormat

He was a mean bastard and she was so pathetic over him she still stayed with him and slept with him when she suspected him of having an affair

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This woman had no pride!

[RomLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

She could not shake the tragic past...
Carla still had nightmares, even after three years. But tragic as her fiance, Crispin's, death had been, another face haunted her waking mind.

For on that fateful night when Carla had broken her engagement to Crispin, she had also seen his older brother Blaze for the first time.

Now, down on her luck and finding herself ironically in Blaze's care, Carla could no longer deny the love she felt for him. But neither could she know how he planned to avenge his brother.

[Booked · Rating 5 out of 5]

I added this book when goodreads didn't really have much info available. I didn't appreciate having this book removed from my shelf. A review they want. A review they get. it's a sweeping tale of a forlorn heroine that is down on her luck. A victim of circumstance. it's very uplifting story that is worth th read. One of my treasured favorites.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I always liked the cover, but the story was meher than meh.
Ex-fiancee who died in an accident, angry older brother. There could have been a lot of angsty drama, alas it was mostly a mess.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is all over the place. It's jumbled and nonsensical. I can't finish it.

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was confusing.
The beginning was promising.
The heroine lives in a boat because she's just lost her job and her house and the boat is one of her friend's brother's .
During a storm she catch a cold and is ill and her rescuer is her late ex fiance's brother.
The heroine is just 20, a pitiful creature.
The hero believes she's guilty for his brother's death. Actually he was driving his car without belts, drunk and very fast. The car crashed and he died, while the heroine survived. She was only 17 at the time.
The hero hosts her until she recovers, then he asks her to marry him.
She refuses him, he forces her and then seduces her. Afterwards she's happy and satisfied and she accepts to marry him.
The plot is confusing, the behaviour of both characters is schizophrenic.
It seems that the hero holds the heroine responsible for his brother's death. He thinks she was driving, and when she tries to explain that he asked her to drive himself, the hero tells that a witness saw her mauling him when he lost control of his car.
The heroine tells him she was trying to help him to avoid an accident.
The hero doesn't believe her.
He forces her to marry him. Why? To make her unhappy?
He's sweet and tender one moment, cruel and mean another.
Why?
He is kind of happy when they are married, and it seems all is ok, but then the heroine listens to his ex mistress telling him he only married her for revenge and she flees.
There's also an om, a stupid and unpleasant man who the heroine doesn't seem to be able to avoid, and he tries to steal her from her husband. The man is reckless and stupid as he ex fiance was. Wasn't once enough?
The hero goes back to her boat where she's back living, has sex with her, then he leaves her again. The man is completely insane.
Then someone destroy her boat and she thinks it's been the hero, so she goes to om and of course he offers to help.
The hero is there and he takes the heroine back to his house.
Just like that.
They resume their marriage in a kind of truce, but ow and om - which are siblings-try to separate them.
There's another stupid and crazy thing coming:
The woman is allowed to sleep in the hero's house while her brother (om) is away.
Really???
The heroine is quite distressed and the hero is amused.
I don't know how the heroine could accept his ex mistress sleeping in their house. This is only tacky.
Ow is all over the hero all the time. I would have murdered them both. With an Uzi. Cold blood.
There's a party where om tries to sabotate the hero's business, and then he mauls the heroine.
Eventually the heroine has a panic attack where she relives the night of her accident and the hero now believes her.
We don't understand, and we don't know, if he really wanted revenge when he married her, and when he changed his mind and why.
We also don't know if evil ow will be again sleeping in their house, even if the hero declares he doesn't want her and he never loved her.
I simply don't know one single woman who would allow this kind of agreement without trying to murder her husband for simply suggesting such a thing.
The book has so many inconsistencies, and it seems that this time it's really the author who's unable to give coherence to the plot.
The heroine seems clueless, the hero is borderline: one moment I love you, one second later you're my worst enemy.
Simply unstable.
I hope they won't have children.

[Live2Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to like LP’s works but I’m not so sure anymore. I think she write good angst but lately, I have noticed her book flaws. Cringy factors from dialogues to stupid people, maybe this one was slightly better than the last one I attempted. Regardless, this one was absolutely tedious to the T.
It was decent for like 1/8 of the book, at the beginning, then it went downhill when she suddenly self admit, early on, that she loved him?! I get it, some HQ surprise you like that, but seriously, where, what, when, why & how exactly did this silly girl come to this conclusion? She has been in love with the hero since first they met? Gaddd! that makes no sense, really it doesn’t. Mind you, nothing relatively happened at that precise scene, no sparks, no interest, nada. It was so quick, unmemorable/unsatisfying, except that the brother died right after that… but I mean, I did not buy the romance gesture at all.
The rest of the plot carried on like a chore. It was repetitive, draggy, heroine was sick for a while, they bantered cutely by partially quoting each other, he/she talks about the dead brother like it wasn’t a traumatic/sensitive topic, etc. No love lost there, from both party, me thinks. Frankly, it was just too cold, they were too casual about the brother’s demise. All in all, it’s not the characters I found lacking but the poor plot execution.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The H and h were both crazy but I can understand his craziness seeing that he thinks she had killed his brother by a drunk and drive car accident.

The h was far worse. She was cheating on the H, going out with the other man, holding the other man’s hand and letting him kiss her again and again and allowing the other man to tell her that he wants to make love to her and taking his phone calls that he made to her almost every day.

It was an engaging read because it was like a roller coaster and was making you as a reader wonder what would happen next.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard slog with a h who is too stupid to breathe and full of self pity. She prides herself on survival yet has done nothing to gain skills for a decent job. She supposedly loves her husband (seems more like lust and infatuation) yet dates neighbor who makes no secret he wants affair. H is the usual bossy jerk.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t stand how this author makes her heroines so pathetic 😭 Despite the promising start, this book was not good. The hero was ALL over the place. The heroine saw him one time and declared herself in love, it was ridiculous. I spent the entire time rolling my eyes.

[Green Sobuj · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think its the best site for reading