"One convenient download. One bargain price. Get all six May 2010 Harlequin Presents with one click!"
Bundle "Virgin on Her Wedding Night" by Lynne Graham; " The Barbarian King" by Jennie Lucas; "Blackwolf's Redemption" by Sandra Marton; "The Prince's Chambermaid" by Sharon Kendrick; " Pregnant by the Spanish Billionaire" by Kim Lawrence; and "Ruthless Russian, Lost Innocent" by Chantelle Shaw.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Virgin on Her Wedding Night – Lynne Graham (1 stars) Synopsis - Five years ago, Caroline Hales jilted Valente Lorenzatto at the altar and wed Michael Bailey - a richer and more socially prominent man. Building a business empire and even taking over the fortune of the family that disowned his pregnant mother have not brought Valente peace, but surely taking the home and business of his ex’s family (and that ex as his lover) will help him leave the past behind. He’ll have everything the proud Hales family denied him when he was a poor laborer who fell in love with Caro, but now he recognizes her for the gold digger that she is.
Caroline spent her who life trying to please her adopted parents, including giving up the man she loved to marry the one she had thought was her best friend. After four years of a very unhappy and unconsummated marriage, she lives with her aging and ailing parents. When Valente offers to rebuild her father’s old company and allow her parents to stay in their home in exchange for Caro as his mistress, she’s not sure she can let down everyone else for the sake of her pride. Neither one knows the whole truth about what happened 5 years ago, but that may not be enough to overcome so much bitterness.
Review -Too much head-jumping! I pity the situations in which Caroline finds herself, but I don’t particularly like her. She knew her husband was dishonest, if not the full extent, so why did she slap Valente when he laid it out? Not that I’m a big fan of Valente either… By chapter 6 I was thoroughly disgusted with the hero, the heroine, the heroine’s deceased husband, and the heroine’s mother. While Caroline has an occasional temper, loyalty, and an apparent work ethic, she doesn’t seem to be strong. Being married to a bully could certainly weaken you, but I struggled to see her in a positive light.
With Harlequin Presents it’s not unusual to find rich, powerful men behaving badly, and Valente is certainly an example. There’s no rhyme or reason to when he decides to be honest/vulnerable, and it always feels forced. Caroline’s bouts of emotion are also all over the place, and every time I thought I couldn’t despise her any more, she said or did something stupid. It was way too convenient that Valente just happened to save her first letter without reading it, but tossed the others. And a poor delivery driver threw his cell phone into the river? I guess they weren’t too expensive in 2005…
Normally I love a good sappy ending, but since I didn’t like or respect these two, I just wanted to gag. Unfortunately I had some sort of bizarre, masochistic need to see the end of this story, which kept me going countless times when I wanted to give up. Worse: I know I have read this one before, but evidently the resolution was too weak to stick with me.
Tamed: The Barbarian King – Jennie Lucas (3 stars) Synopsis -Thirteen years ago Jasmine Kouri was publicly humiliated and banned from her homeland when Prince Kareef Al’Ramiz seduced and abandoned her, and only by agreeing to marry a wealthy older man has she been reunited with her family. Loving Kareef only brought her shame and loneliness, so she’s understandably upset when he is invited to her engagement party. Her fiancé Umar saved Kareef’s life and has since been a valued friend, ally, and neighbor – there will definitely be no avoiding the new king.
Jasmine is the only woman Kareef has ever loved, and he meant the vows he spoke to her in the desert thirteen years ago. Before he grants her the divorce she didn’t know she needed, he has to have her again. A tragic accident resulted in Jasmine losing the baby neither knew they had conceived and left her barren, and the two young lovers were parted by a combination of grief, guilt, and scandal. He thought she could never forgive him, so when Kareef learns that she still loves him he's willing to do anything to keep her in his life. The needs of a nation, a fiancé, and a scandal-worn family weigh against the couple's happiness.
Review - Apparently I read, or at least started, the One-Click Buy in which this story appeared at some point before. It’s obvious that this is part of a series (the 2nd of 4), although calling them Dark-Hearted Desert Men is not a great way to grab my interest. Then again, we are talking about Harlequin Presents… Considering the typical heroes of this imprint, Kareef is downright selfless and sensitive. While imperfect, he typically puts his country and other people first. He tries to fight his desire because he knows that his position demands things he cannot give if he stays married to Jasmine, and he cannot give her the family and respect she deserves if she becomes his mistress. However, while he may waffle about taking her to bed, he doesn’t actively punish her for his desire. Sad to say, but that’s pretty extraordinary for an HP hero.
Because the details of the separation are slowly doled out, Jasmine’s reactions in particular can come across as confusing. At the beginning of the book, she hates Kareef for abandoning her, but in the limo through the desert she says that she was wrong to hate him. He hasn’t done anything to clear her honor or explain what happened to her at this point; the only change is that we know a little more of the story and he behaves sensitively when they pass the scene of their blighted past. It’s implied that she is talking about something his perspective has hinted, but that she hasn’t revealed, which muddles things.
Both characters are admirable and fairly sympathetic, but the whole story feels like it has been soaked in heavy emotion. The word that kept coming to me as I read this was “overwrought.” ”His kiss was so deep and pure that she was reborn in the blaze, fired in the crucible of their desire.” Jeepers! I didn’t begrudge them their idyll in the desert, but I was antsy to learn the ending. And WTF!! Riding a horse off into a sandstorm? Jasmine needs medication. Dragging myself through the last half of the book was rather painful, and I actually had to switch to something else as a palate cleanser before I finished.
Blackwolf's Redemption – Sandra Marton (2 stars) Synopsis - Cultural anthropologist Sienna Cummings goes to Blackwolf Canyon in 2010 to observe the summer solstice, but winds up transported to that spot in 1975. What was a nature preserve in her time was private property 35 year prior, and the scarred and cynical Jesse Blackwolf is not happy to find a strange woman on his land. His experiences in Vietnam serving in the Special Forces left him feeling disconnected from the rest of the world in general and from his Comanche and Sioux heritage in particular. The last thing he wants to deal with is a confused trespasser, but he can’t bring himself to abandon the obviously helpless woman.
Jesse hires Sienna as his assistant, where she uses her futuristic knowledge and skill set to help him. Things quickly heat up between the two on a personal level, but she has trouble adapting to the 70’s. When she is abruptly sucked back to the future, Jesse has to figure out how to proceed. Can he live in the past without her or is there a way to join her? What decisions and actions from the alternate past does he need to take and what does he need to do differently?
Review - I skimmed this because I had read it once before. Time travel can be an interesting device with lots of interesting issues to work with. I tried to cut Sienna some slack because finding yourself suddenly transported 35 years into the past would be unsettling, but she was awfully shriek-y and indecisive. Not having lived in 1975, let alone in Montana with Jesse’s particular background, I don’t know how authentic his attitudes toward women are. I tried to give him a pass, although it was aggravating to read some of his thoughts. However, the fact that half-way through the book Sienna’s only consideration about his gender views centers on sex was annoying. There are much more important things about which she should be concerned than whether he thinks she’s a slut.
This is the only plot that I really remembered from this One-Click Buy, although I had it confused with a different collection. The idea was interesting enough to stick with me, but the relationship between the two wasn’t nearly as compelling. I recalled a few detail about Jesse, but had become blessedly blank on Sienna. She annoyed me too much to finish the re-read.
The Prince’s Chambermaid – Sharon Kendrick (1 stars) Synopsis - When Prince Xaviero of Zaffirinthos stays in the hotel where Cathy works she’s assigned a lion’s share of the necessary renovation work, from painting the walls to upgrading her own appearance. An orphan raised by a spinster great-aunt, she never learned to play up her appearance with make-up and stylish clothing, but her leering boss takes the prince’s visit as an opportunity to dress her in a uniform that overemphasizes her generous curves and to generally put her on display against her wishes. Cinderella Cathy does, in fact, capture the prince’s notice. Hijinks ensue.
Review - I read this before and re-reading the first few pages did not inspire me to continue.
Mistress: Pregnant by the Spanish Billionaire – Kim Lawrence (1 stars) Synopsis - A case of mistaken identity leads Nell Frost to confront Luiz Felipe Santoro, who she believes has seduced her beloved niece Lucy and is trying to lure her into marriage at far to young an age. It turns out that Luiz’s cousin is the (more age-appropriate) culprit. Before they go searching for the young lovers, Luiz manipulates Nell into pretending to be his fiancée for the benefit of his sick grandmother. The widower doesn’t want to marry again, but he wants the woman who raised him to rest in peace thinking that he has found love again and will produce heirs. Hijinks ensue.
Review - I could not bring myself to finish this because I knew I had read it before and Nell was already grating on my nerves within the first few pages. God save me from shrewish HP heroines who can’t shut up long enough to get the facts! Luiz seems reasonable and decent, and I refuse to give the author a chance to prove otherwise.
Ruthless Russian, Lost Innocence – Chantelle Shaw (2 stars) Synopsis - At 24, violinist Ella Stafford has a reputation as an ice princess and prefers music to romance. While she is an exceptionally gifted and accomplished musician, she suffers crippling stage fright and only grudgingly circulates at the gatherings after her performances. When she catches Russian tycoon Vadim Alekdsandrov’s attention at such an event in Paris, her immediate impression is that he is gorgeous and dangerous – way out of her league. He reminds her of her womanizing father, and she resists his advances and her own traitorous attraction to him. On the other hand, she doesn’t want to die a virgin and realizes that she has allowed her fear and hatred of her father to control her life for too long. Perhaps an affair with the Russian is just what the doctor ordered.
Vadim is drawn as much by Ella’s passionate playing as her cool beauty and pursues her with the same focus that drove him to become a billionaire. He keeps other people at a distance emotionally, in part due to the coldness of his upbringing and the cruelty of his time in the army, but also from the guilt and sorrow of having lost his wife and child ten years ago while he was building him empire. If he couldn’t love sweet Irina enough to be a good husband, he was obviously not cut out for meaningful relationships. Vadim finds himself feeling more deeply for Ella than any woman since then and tries to push her away emotionally, but everything changes when they find out she is pregnant.
Review - I was thoroughly disgusted with Ella when she dressed up for impromptu dinner at the house. Of course, I was even angrier with Vadim when he yelled at Ella in bed after he found out that she was a virgin. I know their respective tragedies should make them sympathetic, but I was ready to consign them both to misery before the end of Chapter 7. However, I somehow pressed on to see how he would mess up and whether his ultimate grovel would be worth it. The reconciliation was rather anticlimactic yet hard to believe. I think I need to swear off Harlequin Presents for a while, or at least the ones that I haven’t checked out ahead of time.