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Dark Side of the Island
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2020
On a cold island in the Hebrides, a lying, manipulative schmuck gaslights his estranged wife while dangling a coldly beautiful snake woman the entire time. He has all the smooth answers by the conclusion, including denying his involvement with the OW who is supposedly a tragic figure with a Great Traumatik Past who relied on him AS A FRIEND. I wasn't buying it but poor heroine was desperate to believe everything he dished out so she could resume her life in La-La-Land petting rainbow-farting unicorns and fluffy bunnies.
March 23, 2024
Interesting switch, as in this book it's the H who jumps to conclusions and thinks the h is cheating on him (with her partner in a fashion design business, who she used to date before meeting the H). That triggered their separation, but there was more to it, as he resented her business trips to Paris and London (they were all necessary or she wouldn't have gone) and lost patience with the time it was taking her to arrange ending her partnership so she could freelance and stay on the island the H loved.
He tricks her into returning to the island, there's the OW to make her jealous, another OM to make him jealous, more misunderstandings, the fear that aside from hot sex they have nothing in common, etc.
Another switch: it was the H who apparently walked out and the h who was calling, writing, trying to get in touch with him, to no avail. Usually, it's the other way around.
And once again (and once too often for me) the h lets the OM get away with too much. Business or not, it was pretty obvious her partner/ex-boyfriend was being manipulative and enjoyed causing trouble for the H and h, yet he gets a wrist slap for it, when he should have gotten a butt kick.
Also, the H made a lot of concessions to the h's career at first, and I'll bet if it had been the other way around, readers would have been getting all worked up about her sacrificing herself and her needs to make him happy, while I'll bet they approve of the H making those sacrifices without a problem. So many women have the same double standard they accuse men of having.
At the same time, the H let his jealousy get in the way of realizing that the h really was in a bind where those business commitments were concerned, it's not like she was dragging her feet or making excuses. Again, a switch, because usually it's the h who complains about the H's business commitments and accuses him of ulterior motives.
And - yet again - we're supposed to believe that the h was a very successful designer at age 23??? How often does that happens, unless you have money, connections, sleep with a rich guy or are a prodigy that graduated college at 16??? (Just working hard doesn't cut it in the real world.) I wish these authors would STOP INSULTING MY INTELLIGENCE!!!
Not bad, but nothing special.
He tricks her into returning to the island, there's the OW to make her jealous, another OM to make him jealous, more misunderstandings, the fear that aside from hot sex they have nothing in common, etc.
Another switch: it was the H who apparently walked out and the h who was calling, writing, trying to get in touch with him, to no avail. Usually, it's the other way around.
And once again (and once too often for me) the h lets the OM get away with too much. Business or not, it was pretty obvious her partner/ex-boyfriend was being manipulative and enjoyed causing trouble for the H and h, yet he gets a wrist slap for it, when he should have gotten a butt kick.
Also, the H made a lot of concessions to the h's career at first, and I'll bet if it had been the other way around, readers would have been getting all worked up about her sacrificing herself and her needs to make him happy, while I'll bet they approve of the H making those sacrifices without a problem. So many women have the same double standard they accuse men of having.
At the same time, the H let his jealousy get in the way of realizing that the h really was in a bind where those business commitments were concerned, it's not like she was dragging her feet or making excuses. Again, a switch, because usually it's the h who complains about the H's business commitments and accuses him of ulterior motives.
And - yet again - we're supposed to believe that the h was a very successful designer at age 23??? How often does that happens, unless you have money, connections, sleep with a rich guy or are a prodigy that graduated college at 16??? (Just working hard doesn't cut it in the real world.) I wish these authors would STOP INSULTING MY INTELLIGENCE!!!
Not bad, but nothing special.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews