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Bitter Betrayal
It happened all the time
Jenneth told herself she wasn't the only woman in the world to have been let down by the man she loved and expected to marry.
She knew people went on to rebuild their lives and find lasting relationships. So why couldn't she put the past behind her? The fact that she still loved him was totally irrelevant now.
But Luke Rathby wasn't the sort of man who was easily forgotten. And when he came back into Jenneth's life, he created havoc all over again ....
Jenneth told herself she wasn't the only woman in the world to have been let down by the man she loved and expected to marry.
She knew people went on to rebuild their lives and find lasting relationships. So why couldn't she put the past behind her? The fact that she still loved him was totally irrelevant now.
But Luke Rathby wasn't the sort of man who was easily forgotten. And when he came back into Jenneth's life, he created havoc all over again ....
188 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1991
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,146 books676 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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July 7, 2017
Re Bitter Betrayal - Penny Jordan's recent HP offerings in 1991 have been pretty mild. There are the usual dithery h's who have their little frets, but for the most part the H's have been pretty decent guys with just a bit of HP brashness to keep them interesting.
I can only imagine the conversation PJ must have had with her editor that ended up with this book.
In my imaginary gazing into the portal of the past, I tend to think the conversation went something like this....
Editor: PJ! So happy to see you! Gotta have a bit of a chat hun, those books you have published this year are just missing the mark a wee bit. They don't seem to have to your patented PJ angst (tho the sponging is great!) --- and you know our sales depend upon the punishing kisses and the angsty angst. Look at how successful Lilian Peak and Anne Mather have been. Your top spot as the best selling M&B Diva is in danger Dear! We need an angsty angstbuster of a book.
We have a Robyn Donald and Charlotte Lamb in the line up after you, and you know how those ladies just LOVE to punish and torment their h's. Plus their H's are ALWAYS ready to really put the boot in where it will hurt the most. PJ luv, your H's lately have just not been up to the usual abusive snuff. So could you work on that hun? Please, we need a chart buster here and you are always the lady we love to see do it.
PJ: **After staring at her Editor for a full minute in gobsmacked AWE** You don't like my H's? But they're kind, sneaky Alpha's pretending to be Beta's! And they have the roofie kissing thing down pat- I throw in extra sponging! My h's are neurotic and tormented enough, surely you don't mean for me to EXACERBATE that with a vicious and cruel Alpha H! My h's need to be loved and gently coaxed into taking the chance on the dangerous shoals of love!
Editor: This is from the TOP MAN Mr. Boon HIMSELF PJ! Either you get cracking and resuscitate one of those hard nosed bullies from the 70's or we will have to bring Margaret Pargeter out of retirement, it is never easy at the top and Pedestals can Fall!
PJ: Well! I NEVER!@!@! You want Angsty Angst, Punishing Kisses and utter h TORMENTED misery!?! I will give such Wrecki Angst Torment that even TURNIPS will weep!
And so we get Bitter Betrayal.....
This one starts with a wedding. The h's very, very BFF is taking time out of her busy schedule of acting as a potential procuress for the jilted eight years previously h and done some man hunting for herself. Be warned here folks, this woman is seriously skilled in the art of procurement. She landed and tied up her man in a matter of a few months and is now importuning the h to come to the wedding, all the better to set the h up for the ultimate pimp out.
(Note to the potential readers of this one. This h is probably the MOST pimped out h ever. Every Single Character in this book just cannot wait to hook this h up with the target H. Usually I would only have a little quibble with that. This is HPLandia after all and pimping our h is what secondary characters are FOR. It is WHO they are pimping this h out to that causes the consternation in this one.)
Cause our sad and somewhat stoic h has not only never heard of calcium, (and there must have been a severe bone building mineral shortage in her immediate area, cause she literally oozes invertebrate wimpiness,) she has had a very TRAGIC HEARTBREAK in her past. Eight years before the BFF's wedding, the h was in love with and engaged to a fine local trainee doctor. Flowers were in bloom, bees were buzzing and love was in the air.
The h, being a pure and virtuous sort of h, was desperately holding out against the H's raging lurve mojo passion in anticipation of that big white wedding and her ability to offer her chosen H a untouched, unknown by hand of man experience with her naive but eager body on her wedding night.
Guess she should have been a little less intent on virtuosity, cause she gets dumped hard by her darling beloved. Since she wouldn't put out, thousands would, and one of them is preggers. So the H is getting married to the babe who didn't say no to a little lovin' and now has a bitty little bun cooking in her oven.
The h is heartbroken and resolves that men and relationships just aren't worth it. She decides to focus on her mural painting and channel her passion into her wall designs instead. Fortunately her parents decide to depart for a higher plane of existence at this point, so the h also has two teenage twin brothers to grow and get out of the house on the path to adulthood Finally, that day of twin departure is almost upon them and now maybe the h can have some time for herself for a while.
Well that is what the h thinks anyhow. But everyone, from her younger twin brothers, to her business partner, to her very BFF all think otherwise. They KNOW the h needs to spend the next 20 to thirty years in wedding shackles and more child raising, cause why on earth would such a spineless doormat even think she could have a break from the endless tasks of domestic engineering and enjoy herself for a while?
All who know her decide that independence and a child free existence aren't in her best interests and fortunately the man who originally broke her heart is now widowed and his lovers aren't mother material and his limpet plot moppet is desperate for a female parent, so the h is perfect candidate to volunteer as his domestic slave and unpaid nanny.
Even better, the BFF is the cousin of the man who dumped the h and married his pregger bit on the side. She vehemently wants the h at the wedding cause it is the perfect place to shove the h back into his cheatin, lying arms and the h will be all the better for it. His plot moppet with another woman is in dire need of a doormat mother to wipe her feet upon and no one else would really be willing to take the domestic load off a busy surgeon with baggage and limited time, so the h with her inherent inability to even think of the word NO, is ripe for the trodding upon.
Tho in the build up after the wedding ceremony the BFF is very careful to insist that the h loves the H, she wouldn't want to be too pushy if the h was considering one of the other many candidates that have presented themselves over the years that the BFF declared the h should love.
Everyone has also been very careful to ensure that the BFF's cousin, the cheatin' H, knew all about the potential h grabbers and this has led to several H accusations that the h is more pumpable than the local village communal air compressor. Of course all this takes place whenever the H shows up to flaunt his wife and daughter over the years, especially when he deliberately seeks out the h to flaunt in front of.
So the h is forced into the H's company by his limpet clinging plot moppet for the wedding. The H, after overhearing the BFF tell the h that she still loves the H, decides that if the h hasn't been pumping anyone else, well she can just fulfill her jilted promise to him. He sets about making that so in the most conniving and bullying manner since the last Lilian Peak book.
He gets the h's brothers to let him move into the h's house and volunteers the h for nanny/surrogate mom duties to the plot moppet - tho the moppet was doing a good job of sucking all the attention of the h on her own.
The h tries hard to resist the overwhelming home invasion of the H and the plot moppet. But the dictatorial bullying of the H, combined with the flat out willing abandonment of his child with the h, only leads to increasing h thoughts of extreme bitterness and pain over how unlovable and unlustable the H must find her.
The H continues to make the h is a tart allegations and implies that his own past affairs have been much more personal than the h's willingness to pump and dump. (So not only has the H been married, he has apparently continued sampling the lurvely lady buffet too, just like his daddy.)
There are also plenty of punishing H kissing sessions to be inflicted upon the beleaguered h, which he dismisses as acts of charity to help the pathetic dear when she protests his treatment. (PJ does give us tidbits of the H's POV in this one, so while he is telling the h she is a charity pity pike event, his mental processes are indicating that this is a well thought out plan of battle to tie the h up in his misery permanently - for some reason there is a hidden H truth he isn't revealing, cause he thinks it won't get him in the h in the end.)
There is several chapters of this back and forth and inner h angsting with all local village gossips wandering in and branding the h and H as involved in a full fledged scarlet affair, before the h finally gets the right idear and gets herself good and drunk and willing to do the mattress bouncing rumble.
Unfortunately her choice of a partner isn't the local leather-wearing bad boy with the devilish smile. Nope she bounces right into drunken bed with the H and things are just starting to get really PERSONAL when the plot moppet has a tummy ache and wanders in. Of course the H takes quick advantage of the situation and the h is pretty intoxicated, she is too drunk to protest when the H announces the pending wedding. The h is too hung over the next morning to file a secondary protest when the h's brothers and the entire village decide to help with the quicky wedding arrangements.
The h concludes that resistance is futile, she decides the H wants a permanent nanny and cook while he spreads his love around the land and does surgery at the local teaching hospital. So with bitter resignation over the next few days, the h resigns herself to a lifetime of servitude and all the world is so eager to help.
The h wants a quicky ceremony at the registrar office, but of course everyone else has chosen otherwise and they are determined she will have the whole white wedding affair. The h is so downtrodden by this time that she can only seethe in bitter anguish. She is so gelatinized at this point, that even packing a bag and taking herself off on holiday is beyond the slippery grasp of her jelly mold hands.
( I must confess I felt for the lady, even her BFF lets her down in the end. Had my BFF said, "I can't marry this guy." ten minutes before the altar, I would have slipped her my car keys and gone to announce an unfortunate fake eyelash incident, necessitating a trip to the hospital. This h's BFF only hands her a skimpy teddy and tells her to get into it. Even the business partner, who knows full well the bitter, used feeling of the h, just tells her - "You love him"- as if that was supposed to ensure the h will happily spend the next forty years with a bona fide cheater.)
So the wedding goes off, with the h more and more upset. Apparently sneaking out a window and hitching a ride to Stowe for a garden tour, thus jilting the H at the altar, never occurred to the h as a suitable H comeuppance.
All the guests and friends are delighted. The h is ready to burst into tears of sobbing hopelessness that is only exacerbated when the H stops the car to force the engagement ring back on her finger that he took when he rejected her years before. The h tries to remove it, but it won't come off and the h can only berate the fact that even her engagement ring is a shopworn sloppy second. But whaddaya know, recycling is fashionable even in HPlandia.
The H and h get to the hotel and there IS a wedding night. The h gets to express some of that pent up passion , but it quickly goes south as the h wonders who the H pretended she was in order to ensure wedded consummation. She reacts violently to the suggestion that more boudoir bouncing with the H might be in order and she does get a bit of her own back as she informs the H that she will never consummate with him again and would rather sleep on the gravel in the car park than share his bed - so he has to get his own room for the duration of the honeymoon.
Back at the h's house, they do share a bedroom. However the h is doing a great impersonation of an iceberg and the H is kept at a very circumspect 300 yard distance in every way but the physical. Then the H's daughter gets sick and the h has to rush her to the hospital with possible meningitis. It is the same hospital where the H is the chief surgeon and the h's tender heart is stirred when the H looks dramatically pale upon hearing the bad news. Unfortunately the H has a complicated surgery of his own to perform and can't be with his daughter while the staff is checking her over.
The h is left in the waiting room, blaming herself for bad parenting by suggesting the limpet moppet make some village friends and getting the girl exposed to horrible diseases. The news comes in that the plot moppet only has a bad case of food poisoning and will recover nicely, but the H is in a bad way cause his surgery was a big success and then his patient died.
The h takes him home to get him drunk, (copious amounts of alcohol can make anything bearable, I resorted to it at several moments of reading this book,) and the H takes the interruption free opportunity to tell the h that he loves her and she knows it. The h protests that he said he only wanted a mother for his child and the H denies that is the case. He has always loved her and the years of torment have been ENDLESS, cause he thought other men where poaching on his preserves while he was out hunting up new ones.
The h complains that HE rejected HER, then asks the fatal question " Why then, did you give another woman your child and marry her?" The H realizes that now is the time to confess.
He takes a deep breath and declares "My Mummy MADE Me Do It!" His Doctor father was a womanizer extraordinaire, and his mother lived for years in deliberate blind bliss, but she got seriously, fatally ill and her time was short. The H's father had an affair with a young female patient and got her up the duff. The girl's family was ultra conservative and words about perving Dr.'s being stricken from rolls and newspaper headlines of scandal were mentioned.
The girl's family wanted a husband/father for the baby and any male would do. So the H, to save his mother worry and pain in her final days, volunteered himself at the sacrificial marital altar. He dumped the h, married his father's popsie and became a dad to his half-sister. Then tormented himself with guilt when the popsie died in a car wreck with HER bit on the side.
The H swears his mother knew that he loved the h, but she accepted that men are just made to cheat and the H did what he had to do and so she died at peace. Of course the h is now completely and utterly relieved and worry free, she throws herself in the H's arms and demands some connubial physical bliss, declaring her love for the H to all and sundry for the big PJ HEA.
And PJ parcels up her manuscript and sends it to her editor by express post, sure and certain that this trainwreck of a tortured dramafest will keep her place in the firmament amongst the brightest of the angstiest Stars of HPlandia once again. Cause it really doesn't get any wreckier or whackastickier than this.
I can only imagine the conversation PJ must have had with her editor that ended up with this book.
In my imaginary gazing into the portal of the past, I tend to think the conversation went something like this....
Editor: PJ! So happy to see you! Gotta have a bit of a chat hun, those books you have published this year are just missing the mark a wee bit. They don't seem to have to your patented PJ angst (tho the sponging is great!) --- and you know our sales depend upon the punishing kisses and the angsty angst. Look at how successful Lilian Peak and Anne Mather have been. Your top spot as the best selling M&B Diva is in danger Dear! We need an angsty angstbuster of a book.
We have a Robyn Donald and Charlotte Lamb in the line up after you, and you know how those ladies just LOVE to punish and torment their h's. Plus their H's are ALWAYS ready to really put the boot in where it will hurt the most. PJ luv, your H's lately have just not been up to the usual abusive snuff. So could you work on that hun? Please, we need a chart buster here and you are always the lady we love to see do it.
PJ: **After staring at her Editor for a full minute in gobsmacked AWE** You don't like my H's? But they're kind, sneaky Alpha's pretending to be Beta's! And they have the roofie kissing thing down pat- I throw in extra sponging! My h's are neurotic and tormented enough, surely you don't mean for me to EXACERBATE that with a vicious and cruel Alpha H! My h's need to be loved and gently coaxed into taking the chance on the dangerous shoals of love!
Editor: This is from the TOP MAN Mr. Boon HIMSELF PJ! Either you get cracking and resuscitate one of those hard nosed bullies from the 70's or we will have to bring Margaret Pargeter out of retirement, it is never easy at the top and Pedestals can Fall!
PJ: Well! I NEVER!@!@! You want Angsty Angst, Punishing Kisses and utter h TORMENTED misery!?! I will give such Wrecki Angst Torment that even TURNIPS will weep!
And so we get Bitter Betrayal.....
This one starts with a wedding. The h's very, very BFF is taking time out of her busy schedule of acting as a potential procuress for the jilted eight years previously h and done some man hunting for herself. Be warned here folks, this woman is seriously skilled in the art of procurement. She landed and tied up her man in a matter of a few months and is now importuning the h to come to the wedding, all the better to set the h up for the ultimate pimp out.
(Note to the potential readers of this one. This h is probably the MOST pimped out h ever. Every Single Character in this book just cannot wait to hook this h up with the target H. Usually I would only have a little quibble with that. This is HPLandia after all and pimping our h is what secondary characters are FOR. It is WHO they are pimping this h out to that causes the consternation in this one.)
Cause our sad and somewhat stoic h has not only never heard of calcium, (and there must have been a severe bone building mineral shortage in her immediate area, cause she literally oozes invertebrate wimpiness,) she has had a very TRAGIC HEARTBREAK in her past. Eight years before the BFF's wedding, the h was in love with and engaged to a fine local trainee doctor. Flowers were in bloom, bees were buzzing and love was in the air.
The h, being a pure and virtuous sort of h, was desperately holding out against the H's raging lurve mojo passion in anticipation of that big white wedding and her ability to offer her chosen H a untouched, unknown by hand of man experience with her naive but eager body on her wedding night.
Guess she should have been a little less intent on virtuosity, cause she gets dumped hard by her darling beloved. Since she wouldn't put out, thousands would, and one of them is preggers. So the H is getting married to the babe who didn't say no to a little lovin' and now has a bitty little bun cooking in her oven.
The h is heartbroken and resolves that men and relationships just aren't worth it. She decides to focus on her mural painting and channel her passion into her wall designs instead. Fortunately her parents decide to depart for a higher plane of existence at this point, so the h also has two teenage twin brothers to grow and get out of the house on the path to adulthood Finally, that day of twin departure is almost upon them and now maybe the h can have some time for herself for a while.
Well that is what the h thinks anyhow. But everyone, from her younger twin brothers, to her business partner, to her very BFF all think otherwise. They KNOW the h needs to spend the next 20 to thirty years in wedding shackles and more child raising, cause why on earth would such a spineless doormat even think she could have a break from the endless tasks of domestic engineering and enjoy herself for a while?
All who know her decide that independence and a child free existence aren't in her best interests and fortunately the man who originally broke her heart is now widowed and his lovers aren't mother material and his limpet plot moppet is desperate for a female parent, so the h is perfect candidate to volunteer as his domestic slave and unpaid nanny.
Even better, the BFF is the cousin of the man who dumped the h and married his pregger bit on the side. She vehemently wants the h at the wedding cause it is the perfect place to shove the h back into his cheatin, lying arms and the h will be all the better for it. His plot moppet with another woman is in dire need of a doormat mother to wipe her feet upon and no one else would really be willing to take the domestic load off a busy surgeon with baggage and limited time, so the h with her inherent inability to even think of the word NO, is ripe for the trodding upon.
Tho in the build up after the wedding ceremony the BFF is very careful to insist that the h loves the H, she wouldn't want to be too pushy if the h was considering one of the other many candidates that have presented themselves over the years that the BFF declared the h should love.
Everyone has also been very careful to ensure that the BFF's cousin, the cheatin' H, knew all about the potential h grabbers and this has led to several H accusations that the h is more pumpable than the local village communal air compressor. Of course all this takes place whenever the H shows up to flaunt his wife and daughter over the years, especially when he deliberately seeks out the h to flaunt in front of.
So the h is forced into the H's company by his limpet clinging plot moppet for the wedding. The H, after overhearing the BFF tell the h that she still loves the H, decides that if the h hasn't been pumping anyone else, well she can just fulfill her jilted promise to him. He sets about making that so in the most conniving and bullying manner since the last Lilian Peak book.
He gets the h's brothers to let him move into the h's house and volunteers the h for nanny/surrogate mom duties to the plot moppet - tho the moppet was doing a good job of sucking all the attention of the h on her own.
The h tries hard to resist the overwhelming home invasion of the H and the plot moppet. But the dictatorial bullying of the H, combined with the flat out willing abandonment of his child with the h, only leads to increasing h thoughts of extreme bitterness and pain over how unlovable and unlustable the H must find her.
The H continues to make the h is a tart allegations and implies that his own past affairs have been much more personal than the h's willingness to pump and dump. (So not only has the H been married, he has apparently continued sampling the lurvely lady buffet too, just like his daddy.)
There are also plenty of punishing H kissing sessions to be inflicted upon the beleaguered h, which he dismisses as acts of charity to help the pathetic dear when she protests his treatment. (PJ does give us tidbits of the H's POV in this one, so while he is telling the h she is a charity pity pike event, his mental processes are indicating that this is a well thought out plan of battle to tie the h up in his misery permanently - for some reason there is a hidden H truth he isn't revealing, cause he thinks it won't get him in the h in the end.)
There is several chapters of this back and forth and inner h angsting with all local village gossips wandering in and branding the h and H as involved in a full fledged scarlet affair, before the h finally gets the right idear and gets herself good and drunk and willing to do the mattress bouncing rumble.
Unfortunately her choice of a partner isn't the local leather-wearing bad boy with the devilish smile. Nope she bounces right into drunken bed with the H and things are just starting to get really PERSONAL when the plot moppet has a tummy ache and wanders in. Of course the H takes quick advantage of the situation and the h is pretty intoxicated, she is too drunk to protest when the H announces the pending wedding. The h is too hung over the next morning to file a secondary protest when the h's brothers and the entire village decide to help with the quicky wedding arrangements.
The h concludes that resistance is futile, she decides the H wants a permanent nanny and cook while he spreads his love around the land and does surgery at the local teaching hospital. So with bitter resignation over the next few days, the h resigns herself to a lifetime of servitude and all the world is so eager to help.
The h wants a quicky ceremony at the registrar office, but of course everyone else has chosen otherwise and they are determined she will have the whole white wedding affair. The h is so downtrodden by this time that she can only seethe in bitter anguish. She is so gelatinized at this point, that even packing a bag and taking herself off on holiday is beyond the slippery grasp of her jelly mold hands.
( I must confess I felt for the lady, even her BFF lets her down in the end. Had my BFF said, "I can't marry this guy." ten minutes before the altar, I would have slipped her my car keys and gone to announce an unfortunate fake eyelash incident, necessitating a trip to the hospital. This h's BFF only hands her a skimpy teddy and tells her to get into it. Even the business partner, who knows full well the bitter, used feeling of the h, just tells her - "You love him"- as if that was supposed to ensure the h will happily spend the next forty years with a bona fide cheater.)
So the wedding goes off, with the h more and more upset. Apparently sneaking out a window and hitching a ride to Stowe for a garden tour, thus jilting the H at the altar, never occurred to the h as a suitable H comeuppance.
All the guests and friends are delighted. The h is ready to burst into tears of sobbing hopelessness that is only exacerbated when the H stops the car to force the engagement ring back on her finger that he took when he rejected her years before. The h tries to remove it, but it won't come off and the h can only berate the fact that even her engagement ring is a shopworn sloppy second. But whaddaya know, recycling is fashionable even in HPlandia.
The H and h get to the hotel and there IS a wedding night. The h gets to express some of that pent up passion , but it quickly goes south as the h wonders who the H pretended she was in order to ensure wedded consummation. She reacts violently to the suggestion that more boudoir bouncing with the H might be in order and she does get a bit of her own back as she informs the H that she will never consummate with him again and would rather sleep on the gravel in the car park than share his bed - so he has to get his own room for the duration of the honeymoon.
Back at the h's house, they do share a bedroom. However the h is doing a great impersonation of an iceberg and the H is kept at a very circumspect 300 yard distance in every way but the physical. Then the H's daughter gets sick and the h has to rush her to the hospital with possible meningitis. It is the same hospital where the H is the chief surgeon and the h's tender heart is stirred when the H looks dramatically pale upon hearing the bad news. Unfortunately the H has a complicated surgery of his own to perform and can't be with his daughter while the staff is checking her over.
The h is left in the waiting room, blaming herself for bad parenting by suggesting the limpet moppet make some village friends and getting the girl exposed to horrible diseases. The news comes in that the plot moppet only has a bad case of food poisoning and will recover nicely, but the H is in a bad way cause his surgery was a big success and then his patient died.
The h takes him home to get him drunk, (copious amounts of alcohol can make anything bearable, I resorted to it at several moments of reading this book,) and the H takes the interruption free opportunity to tell the h that he loves her and she knows it. The h protests that he said he only wanted a mother for his child and the H denies that is the case. He has always loved her and the years of torment have been ENDLESS, cause he thought other men where poaching on his preserves while he was out hunting up new ones.
The h complains that HE rejected HER, then asks the fatal question " Why then, did you give another woman your child and marry her?" The H realizes that now is the time to confess.
He takes a deep breath and declares "My Mummy MADE Me Do It!" His Doctor father was a womanizer extraordinaire, and his mother lived for years in deliberate blind bliss, but she got seriously, fatally ill and her time was short. The H's father had an affair with a young female patient and got her up the duff. The girl's family was ultra conservative and words about perving Dr.'s being stricken from rolls and newspaper headlines of scandal were mentioned.
The girl's family wanted a husband/father for the baby and any male would do. So the H, to save his mother worry and pain in her final days, volunteered himself at the sacrificial marital altar. He dumped the h, married his father's popsie and became a dad to his half-sister. Then tormented himself with guilt when the popsie died in a car wreck with HER bit on the side.
The H swears his mother knew that he loved the h, but she accepted that men are just made to cheat and the H did what he had to do and so she died at peace. Of course the h is now completely and utterly relieved and worry free, she throws herself in the H's arms and demands some connubial physical bliss, declaring her love for the H to all and sundry for the big PJ HEA.
And PJ parcels up her manuscript and sends it to her editor by express post, sure and certain that this trainwreck of a tortured dramafest will keep her place in the firmament amongst the brightest of the angstiest Stars of HPlandia once again. Cause it really doesn't get any wreckier or whackastickier than this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2017
Dear Abby,
I'm a successful surgeon with a daughter who is really my half sister. I broke off my engagement to a great girl ten years ago because my father couldn't keep it in his pants and impregnated a young patient of his. He was facing career ruin and my mother's health was bad, so I stepped up and married the knocked up girl and told everyone the child was mine.
Luckily, my wife died while running away with another man. I wanted to get my fiancee back right away but I found out that she had turned into a total slut after her parents were killed and she had sole responsibility of two younger brothers.
Turns out that was wrong. My bad. She was just too proud to admit there was never another man. I overheard her at my cousin's wedding saying she was still in love with me, but she thinks I'm only interested because I'm looking for a mother to my child/half-sister. How can I win her back? Especially since I've been slut shaming her out of jealousy?
Signed,
An HP hero
Dear HP hero,
You are an idiot. Luckily you're living in a small land that consists of 187 pages. Start by enlisting the heroine's friends, brothers and your daughter/half-sister to encourage her to marry you. Then get her drunk, take off all of her clothes as you're putting her to bed and then have your daughter/ half-sister discover you in the middle of the night. She'll be compromised and will have to marry you in church with all of your co-conspirators as witness. It's all falling action from there - especially when you finally explain that bone-headed move when you jilted her. Good luck and don't ever make any more major decisions.
Regular readers know that this advice only works for HP heroes. Don't try this at home.
Abby
I'm a successful surgeon with a daughter who is really my half sister. I broke off my engagement to a great girl ten years ago because my father couldn't keep it in his pants and impregnated a young patient of his. He was facing career ruin and my mother's health was bad, so I stepped up and married the knocked up girl and told everyone the child was mine.
Luckily, my wife died while running away with another man. I wanted to get my fiancee back right away but I found out that she had turned into a total slut after her parents were killed and she had sole responsibility of two younger brothers.
Turns out that was wrong. My bad. She was just too proud to admit there was never another man. I overheard her at my cousin's wedding saying she was still in love with me, but she thinks I'm only interested because I'm looking for a mother to my child/half-sister. How can I win her back? Especially since I've been slut shaming her out of jealousy?
Signed,
An HP hero
Dear HP hero,
You are an idiot. Luckily you're living in a small land that consists of 187 pages. Start by enlisting the heroine's friends, brothers and your daughter/half-sister to encourage her to marry you. Then get her drunk, take off all of her clothes as you're putting her to bed and then have your daughter/ half-sister discover you in the middle of the night. She'll be compromised and will have to marry you in church with all of your co-conspirators as witness. It's all falling action from there - especially when you finally explain that bone-headed move when you jilted her. Good luck and don't ever make any more major decisions.
Regular readers know that this advice only works for HP heroes. Don't try this at home.
Abby
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2011
This romance aggravated me from here to Sunday, but was fun anyway, for some reason. Jenneth has never been able to love again since being cruelly dumped by her fiance, who married another woman. Now his wife is dead and he wants to get Jenneth back. By telling her the bizarre truth about his marriage and asking for forgiveness? Nah, by plotting and scheming to force himself on her against her will. Oh Penny Jordan, why can’t I quit you?
There are so many little annoyances in this. The narration is primarily from the heroine’s POV, with little glimpses of the hero’s now and then. I found this both jarring and narratively useless -- stick to one or give equal time! And in classic PJ fashion, the presence of any man in the heroine’s life, in any capacity whatsoever, is immediately interpreted by the hero to mean she’s the Whore of Babylon -- which is particularly irksome in this case, when she is the injured party. And even the brief glimpses we see of his POV do nothing to convince me that his scheming is necessary or useful. He just comes off like a jerk, all around.
Still… drama! Tears! Heartache! Reconciliation! It's not the best Jordan I've ever read, but manages to hit the spot.
There are so many little annoyances in this. The narration is primarily from the heroine’s POV, with little glimpses of the hero’s now and then. I found this both jarring and narratively useless -- stick to one or give equal time! And in classic PJ fashion, the presence of any man in the heroine’s life, in any capacity whatsoever, is immediately interpreted by the hero to mean she’s the Whore of Babylon -- which is particularly irksome in this case, when she is the injured party. And even the brief glimpses we see of his POV do nothing to convince me that his scheming is necessary or useful. He just comes off like a jerk, all around.
Still… drama! Tears! Heartache! Reconciliation! It's not the best Jordan I've ever read, but manages to hit the spot.
July 13, 2015
Meh. I think perhaps, I need to step away from the HPs for a bit. My luck has been dismal of late.
I realize that miscommunication is the glue that holds the HP universe together, but this was absurd. Seriously this could have been cleared up with one 5 minute conversation. The hero's machinations were like those overly elaborate murder plots concocted by a cartoon villain. Just pull the trigger! is what I always want to scream. But no, that simply will never do.
Also, I cannot count the number of times the phone rang, someone walked in unannounced, knocked at a bad time, etc. So aside from the overly elaborate, mentally cruel exercise the hero puts the heroine through, we also have a convenient interruption every time the truth even begins to surface.
The point of view thing was weird as well. It was 98% heroine, but now and again we'd pop into someone else's POV. Very uneven. Also, for a novel so short I don't think the couple spent enough time together.
And for those dying to be spoiled, I'll tell you the 'big secret' although it was quite obvious to me from the beginning.
I realize that miscommunication is the glue that holds the HP universe together, but this was absurd. Seriously this could have been cleared up with one 5 minute conversation. The hero's machinations were like those overly elaborate murder plots concocted by a cartoon villain. Just pull the trigger! is what I always want to scream. But no, that simply will never do.
Also, I cannot count the number of times the phone rang, someone walked in unannounced, knocked at a bad time, etc. So aside from the overly elaborate, mentally cruel exercise the hero puts the heroine through, we also have a convenient interruption every time the truth even begins to surface.
The point of view thing was weird as well. It was 98% heroine, but now and again we'd pop into someone else's POV. Very uneven. Also, for a novel so short I don't think the couple spent enough time together.
And for those dying to be spoiled, I'll tell you the 'big secret' although it was quite obvious to me from the beginning.
December 23, 2014
It’s 1989 and the year of my first job (something I disliked so much that once whilst complaining about it to a colleague, he gave me the following advice: “You could always take the baby option”.) It was something that really depressed me at the time; but this book embodies those attitudes from that time entirely.
Yes, there’s a distinct lack of feminism here as Jordan’s heroine (Jenneth) allows herself to be coerced, manipulated and bullied into a reunion with a man who broke their engagement (and her heart) some years earlier. The premise for the story is this: Jenneth was madly in love with Luke and they got engaged – however, just before the wedding Luke tells her he’s got another girl pregnant and he’s marrying her instead. It breaks Jenneth’s heart and leaves her unable to trust anyone again. When her parents die in a tragic accident (quelle surprise! Jordan’s heroines are nearly always rendered alone and unprotected via some tragic accident or other – why else would they permit the heroes to bully and coerce them so much?) and she is left looking after her twin brothers, it’s as if her life has been put on hold. However, the twins grow up and decide she needs a husband (virtually everyone in the book decides that Jenneth needs a husband and a load of kids, despite the fact that she’s managed very well without these encumbrances in the past) and they invite Luke to move in (who else) with the offspring from his previous marriage and volunteer her services as an unpaid nanny. Now at this point, anybody else would tell the hero, in no uncertain terms, to sod off. Not Jenneth though; oh no. Instead she just sucks it up and lets Luke and his horrible child (with her horrible “piping” voice) move in, despite the fact that it’s the last thing she wants. So depressed is she that she gets utterly drunk at a party and ends up in bed with the hero. His daughter then finds her semi-naked and with a raging hangover and with that same “piping voice” slicing through the hangover informs her that she is now her “new mummy”. Again, anyone else would be running for the hills; and again, no, not Jenneth. She freely admits to the reader: “She was a puppet, with no will of her own, her movements dictated by others.” (Kindle edition, Loc. 1721) Before you can repeat to yourself the valuable life lesson: “never get pissed at parties”, she’s married with a step-child whose irritating piping voice is destined to cut across any future hangovers or indeed, anything she tries to do for herself in the future.
This is a poor piece of work and a terrible, terrible affront to the women’s liberation movement. I’m not particularly hardcore in terms of feminism, but even I can see this is offensive to female nature. It was just too redolent of the things my mother used to tell me about how a woman needed a man to complete her, etc (my mother grew up in the fifties, enough said). The only bitter betrayal here is the one that Jordan is perpetrating against her fellow women (and her readers). A dreadful relic from the 80s and one best forgotten.
Yes, there’s a distinct lack of feminism here as Jordan’s heroine (Jenneth) allows herself to be coerced, manipulated and bullied into a reunion with a man who broke their engagement (and her heart) some years earlier. The premise for the story is this: Jenneth was madly in love with Luke and they got engaged – however, just before the wedding Luke tells her he’s got another girl pregnant and he’s marrying her instead. It breaks Jenneth’s heart and leaves her unable to trust anyone again. When her parents die in a tragic accident (quelle surprise! Jordan’s heroines are nearly always rendered alone and unprotected via some tragic accident or other – why else would they permit the heroes to bully and coerce them so much?) and she is left looking after her twin brothers, it’s as if her life has been put on hold. However, the twins grow up and decide she needs a husband (virtually everyone in the book decides that Jenneth needs a husband and a load of kids, despite the fact that she’s managed very well without these encumbrances in the past) and they invite Luke to move in (who else) with the offspring from his previous marriage and volunteer her services as an unpaid nanny. Now at this point, anybody else would tell the hero, in no uncertain terms, to sod off. Not Jenneth though; oh no. Instead she just sucks it up and lets Luke and his horrible child (with her horrible “piping” voice) move in, despite the fact that it’s the last thing she wants. So depressed is she that she gets utterly drunk at a party and ends up in bed with the hero. His daughter then finds her semi-naked and with a raging hangover and with that same “piping voice” slicing through the hangover informs her that she is now her “new mummy”. Again, anyone else would be running for the hills; and again, no, not Jenneth. She freely admits to the reader: “She was a puppet, with no will of her own, her movements dictated by others.” (Kindle edition, Loc. 1721) Before you can repeat to yourself the valuable life lesson: “never get pissed at parties”, she’s married with a step-child whose irritating piping voice is destined to cut across any future hangovers or indeed, anything she tries to do for herself in the future.
This is a poor piece of work and a terrible, terrible affront to the women’s liberation movement. I’m not particularly hardcore in terms of feminism, but even I can see this is offensive to female nature. It was just too redolent of the things my mother used to tell me about how a woman needed a man to complete her, etc (my mother grew up in the fifties, enough said). The only bitter betrayal here is the one that Jordan is perpetrating against her fellow women (and her readers). A dreadful relic from the 80s and one best forgotten.
July 7, 2017
This was a hard one. I just don't understand all these crazy tropes. Who would marry his Father's side piece and not tell his fiancee why? This is just plain stupid. I felt very sorry for Jenneth, the h, but girl, get a life. Waiting around for a guy that you thought cheated on you and married another woman??? Can you spell S T U P I D? I sure can. And then the constand misunderstandings about his intentions? It was crazy. And the little girl wanting a pretend Mummy?? Get that girl therapy. Fast. This was just a hodgepodge of unnecessary angst. I gave it a three though because it kept me interested. I had to see how this trainwreck would end. And when I finished it, all I thought was what just happened? I never understood why he didn't come back for her right away Or tell her the truth right away. What was that word again? S T U P I D. And that might make me the same for continuing to read these Harlequins and hoping for a different outcome. LOL
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2020
Gawd, Luke was so STUPID! However, I still lapped this up for the brand of angst and passion Penny Jordan wrote so well. Let's not forget the crazy, OTT plot which could have been pulled from an '80s soap opera.
Luke's actions—past and present—ran sensitive Jenneth through the emotional wringer. Luke also suffered for years, bitterly regretting his noble intentions. But suffering wasn't enough to wean Luke off his piss-poor communication skills or double standards (after dumping Jenneth years ago and after apparently moving on himself, he resented her for doing so too).
So could Luke get even more stupid? Why, yes, believe it or not. Instead of just telling her the truth, Luke instead plotted to win Jenneth back by sneaky means (i.e. blackmail) and . . . it worked.
Luke's actions—past and present—ran sensitive Jenneth through the emotional wringer. Luke also suffered for years, bitterly regretting his noble intentions. But suffering wasn't enough to wean Luke off his piss-poor communication skills or double standards (after dumping Jenneth years ago and after apparently moving on himself, he resented her for doing so too).
So could Luke get even more stupid? Why, yes, believe it or not. Instead of just telling her the truth, Luke instead plotted to win Jenneth back by sneaky means (i.e. blackmail) and . . . it worked.
July 3, 2019
What did I just read? HPs are definitely my guilty pleasure, but it’s books like this one that usually send me off to take a two-year hiatus.
What was PJ thinking? I can deal with an arrogant asshat man-whore who jumps to conclusions and slut shames innocent heroines. (I mean let’s face it why else would you read an hp?) But, this guy takes the prize. He cheats on the heroine while engaged to her, gets his side piece preggers, dumps the heroine, and years later has the nerve to come back into her life and call her a slut? And instead of laughing in his face and letting him know that unfortunately, he still holds the title for slut of the century, she decides it’s better to let him think that.
Probably that alone wouldn’t be bad, but the heroine spends the entire book being led by the nose by everyone. She allows her two young brothers to invite this piece of garbage into their house. She allows a sniveling five year old to call every dance tune. Her BFF and her business partner, both think it’s okay to run the heroine’s life and coerce her to marry this turd. After-all, barefoot and pregnant is so much better than being single with a vibrant successful career. With friends like that who needs enemies.
Honestly, I grew up in the eighties. Trust me, it wasn’t this bad.
This should never have gotten published.
What was PJ thinking? I can deal with an arrogant asshat man-whore who jumps to conclusions and slut shames innocent heroines. (I mean let’s face it why else would you read an hp?) But, this guy takes the prize. He cheats on the heroine while engaged to her, gets his side piece preggers, dumps the heroine, and years later has the nerve to come back into her life and call her a slut? And instead of laughing in his face and letting him know that unfortunately, he still holds the title for slut of the century, she decides it’s better to let him think that.
Probably that alone wouldn’t be bad, but the heroine spends the entire book being led by the nose by everyone. She allows her two young brothers to invite this piece of garbage into their house. She allows a sniveling five year old to call every dance tune. Her BFF and her business partner, both think it’s okay to run the heroine’s life and coerce her to marry this turd. After-all, barefoot and pregnant is so much better than being single with a vibrant successful career. With friends like that who needs enemies.
Honestly, I grew up in the eighties. Trust me, it wasn’t this bad.
This should never have gotten published.
October 19, 2018
“Incredible—after so much and such varied sexual experience, you still manage to project that same air of virginal apprehension. If there’s one thing I regret about the past, it’s possibly that I wasn’t your first lover”
He wanted her to forgive him and be reunited with him???
“he had adhered rigorously to her demand not to touch her, a promise given on the first night of their marriage when she had told him that she would rather sleep outside on the gravel of the hotel car park than share his bed.
In fact, his ready acceptance of her demand that their marriage be non-sexual only confirmed that the desire he had evinced earlier had not really been for her as a person at all.”
OMG, PJ’s heroines' great wisdom and wits make me feel like Müslim Baba fans who cuts themselves with razors while listening his songs. 🙈
In summary, so much potential but wasted somehow. 🤔
He wanted her to forgive him and be reunited with him???
“he had adhered rigorously to her demand not to touch her, a promise given on the first night of their marriage when she had told him that she would rather sleep outside on the gravel of the hotel car park than share his bed.
In fact, his ready acceptance of her demand that their marriage be non-sexual only confirmed that the desire he had evinced earlier had not really been for her as a person at all.”
OMG, PJ’s heroines' great wisdom and wits make me feel like Müslim Baba fans who cuts themselves with razors while listening his songs. 🙈
In summary, so much potential but wasted somehow. 🤔
June 8, 2011
This was my fist Penny Jordan and I didn't like it. I cannot believe that an adult woman can be reduced that way. What a doormat... and him being a very a@@hole!!!!
He accused her to be promiscuous and she didn't say anything! And she did marry him, after all because SHE LOVED HIM!!
grrrrrrr!!!! Not recommended.
I have some expectations for this author but maybe she's not my cup of tea :(
He accused her to be promiscuous and she didn't say anything! And she did marry him, after all because SHE LOVED HIM!!
grrrrrrr!!!! Not recommended.
I have some expectations for this author but maybe she's not my cup of tea :(
May 12, 2015
Complete and utter rubbish, one of the worst books I've had the misfortune to read. It's hard to believe that a woman would write such tripe.
September 12, 2018
Tragic story.
So much wasted time for the main couple I would say the same for me reading this one.
Avoid it if you want to read a better one from Jordan this falls in so so category.
Too much inner monologue. The story dragged too long and I didn't like how it was told. There wasn't much surprise at the end. It felt flat at the end, I kept reading to see if it was just slow build up but it was not the case.
So much wasted time for the main couple I would say the same for me reading this one.
Avoid it if you want to read a better one from Jordan this falls in so so category.
Too much inner monologue. The story dragged too long and I didn't like how it was told. There wasn't much surprise at the end. It felt flat at the end, I kept reading to see if it was just slow build up but it was not the case.
August 22, 2020
Three stars because Penny Jordan.
August 6, 2015
The book itself gets 2 stars because it's... well... pretty crazy, but my enjoyment of its OTT ridiculousness was at 5 so I'm splitting the difference at 4 stars (why not 3.5, you ask? Because it's my review and I do what I want).
This was a great little piece of 80s totally over the top angstastic fun. Let's be clear -- this book will not be for everyone. Luke and the ignominiously named Jenneth (I'm assuming her parents were Kenneth and Jennifer? Are people actually named this? Don't answer that, I'm being rhetorical; I looked up the name last night and it is, indeed, a name) were engaged to be married seven years ago. The engagement was broken off when Luke told Jenneth he was marrying another woman who was having his baby ( DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNNNN! ). Jenneth has spent the last seven years completely and totally pining for her cheating ex. I get that this is an 80s HP, and either one of those descriptors is going to automatically include pining on the part of the FMC, but I feel reasonably confident that Jenneth takes it to new levels. Either way, all these years she has remained a hymenous intactus but to salvage her pride, for years she has allowed Luke to believe that her bedroom essentially has a revolving door and a "Now Serving" system.
Of course because Luke believes she is a skank ho who has enjoyed a healthy sex life (oh the nerve of her, says the cheating bastard who got another woman preggers while engaged!) he treats her like unadulterated shit on the few occasions they've run into each other over the years because how dare she give it up to other men?! Poor cheating bastard Luke. How dare his ex-fiancee have sex with other men after he broke up with her. Luke believes the only time to have sex with other people is while you're engaged to someone.
Anyway, the two meet up again at Jenneth's best friend's wedding, where Luke appears with his little girl, Angelica. There is something wrong with this child, everyone. Her only thoughts, EVER consisted of "Mummy," "Jenneth," "Daddy", and "Get Daddy to make Jenneth my new Mummy".
"Hey kid. Want an ice cream?"
"Jenneth's going to be my new mummy."
"That's great kid, but I asked if you wanted an ice cream."
"I'm going to get Daddy to make Jenneth my new mummy."
"I have chocolate or strawberry..."
"Jenneth is my everything."
"Fuck this shit. I don't know why I even tried to lure you into my van."
(Or something like that.)
Anyway, I was a little worried about thisplot moppet child. She had no friends, no interests, and was completely obsessed with a woman she barely knew becoming her mom. It was actually a little disturbing.
(Anyone who knows the origins of that gif knows how creepy Angelica was. It was pretty much like that, only without the gas mask. I'm guessing Angelica was in the early stages of the Chula nanogene healing process.)
Anyway, thanks to some crazy Because the Plot Says So machinations, Luke realizes that the fiancee he cheated on (I cannot emphasize this enough because the book sort of seemed like it wanted to gloss over it) was still as virginal as the driven snow and ohmigod he must have her!!!!. So basically he railroads himself into her life and because Jenneth has spent the last seven years making herself into as pathetic a human being as possible, her supposedly protective brothers decide that setting her up with the Cheating Cheater Who Cheated can't be as bad as the husk of a person she's turned into over the last seven years. For her part, Jenneth was completely spineless and when she should have been screaming at Luke, or at least fighting back against his machinations, half the time she was too overcome with luuuuurv for the cheating bastard. That said, as much as she lets him, her brothers, and every single one of her friends, walk all over her because they know that getting her back with the dude who impregnates women is the best thing for her, she did do a decent job of holding out against him. She knows from the beginning she's still in love with him, but she also knows that she can never ever trust him. Her motives weren't as nearly Girl Power as I would like (she's more worried that Luke will never desire her than about his fidelity) but a hold out is a hold out.
As I mentioned, this was an 80s HP (I always play a game with myself on these to try and figure out when the book was written and I was pretty off on this one -- I guessed '81 or '82 and it was originally published in '89, so I was off by the better part of a decade) and so the cheese factor is pretty rampant. You can't pick one of these up without expecting it. .
When looked at on its own, this book... well... it's not all that good. In fact, even though this is going on my Keepers shelf, I'm not sure I'd recommend it. To anyone. Ever. It's just soooo cheesy! Luke does some seriously fucked up maneuvers in getting Jenneth back. Like, stuff that would do 90s-era Stefano DiMera proud.
And there's all these weird coincidences -- like there is not a bit of privacy around the house. Every five minutes some nosy neighbor walks in or peeks through a window or whatever.
This book won't win any awards for women's lib, but I didn't expect it to. Cheating books almost never do it for me but I always pick them up anyway -- I want to see if the asshat cheating MMC can be redeemed and the author almost always drops the ball by putting the onus on the FMC to forgive when forgiveness hasn't even been asked for, like there aren't serious trust issues going on and like the MMC shouldn't have to work to get his woman back. However, I gotta say, this one did it for me. I left the book getting why Jenneth would take Luke back and not totally hating her for it . Plus, my inner angst whore was incredibly happy with this one -- cheese, spinelessness and all. I would only recommend this to someone who is familiar with the OTT soaptastic craziness of HPs and is also familiar with how that would have been magnified in the 80s. This is not a book for romance novel beginners or for people who want to see an FMC with a take-charge attitude and a fuck you, I don't need a cheater in my life mantra. That said, this, like some other romance novels I'm not proud of but love anyway, will have to be pried out of my cold, dead hands.
This was a great little piece of 80s totally over the top angstastic fun. Let's be clear -- this book will not be for everyone. Luke and the ignominiously named Jenneth (I'm assuming her parents were Kenneth and Jennifer? Are people actually named this? Don't answer that, I'm being rhetorical; I looked up the name last night and it is, indeed, a name) were engaged to be married seven years ago. The engagement was broken off when Luke told Jenneth he was marrying another woman who was having his baby ( DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNNNN! ). Jenneth has spent the last seven years completely and totally pining for her cheating ex. I get that this is an 80s HP, and either one of those descriptors is going to automatically include pining on the part of the FMC, but I feel reasonably confident that Jenneth takes it to new levels. Either way, all these years she has remained a hymenous intactus but to salvage her pride, for years she has allowed Luke to believe that her bedroom essentially has a revolving door and a "Now Serving" system.
Of course because Luke believes she is a skank ho who has enjoyed a healthy sex life (oh the nerve of her, says the cheating bastard who got another woman preggers while engaged!) he treats her like unadulterated shit on the few occasions they've run into each other over the years because how dare she give it up to other men?! Poor cheating bastard Luke. How dare his ex-fiancee have sex with other men after he broke up with her. Luke believes the only time to have sex with other people is while you're engaged to someone.
Anyway, the two meet up again at Jenneth's best friend's wedding, where Luke appears with his little girl, Angelica. There is something wrong with this child, everyone. Her only thoughts, EVER consisted of "Mummy," "Jenneth," "Daddy", and "Get Daddy to make Jenneth my new Mummy".
"Hey kid. Want an ice cream?"
"Jenneth's going to be my new mummy."
"That's great kid, but I asked if you wanted an ice cream."
"I'm going to get Daddy to make Jenneth my new mummy."
"I have chocolate or strawberry..."
"Jenneth is my everything."
"Fuck this shit. I don't know why I even tried to lure you into my van."
(Or something like that.)
Anyway, I was a little worried about this
(Anyone who knows the origins of that gif knows how creepy Angelica was. It was pretty much like that, only without the gas mask. I'm guessing Angelica was in the early stages of the Chula nanogene healing process.)
Anyway, thanks to some crazy Because the Plot Says So machinations, Luke realizes that the fiancee he cheated on (I cannot emphasize this enough because the book sort of seemed like it wanted to gloss over it) was still as virginal as the driven snow and ohmigod he must have her!!!!. So basically he railroads himself into her life and because Jenneth has spent the last seven years making herself into as pathetic a human being as possible, her supposedly protective brothers decide that setting her up with the Cheating Cheater Who Cheated can't be as bad as the husk of a person she's turned into over the last seven years. For her part, Jenneth was completely spineless and when she should have been screaming at Luke, or at least fighting back against his machinations, half the time she was too overcome with luuuuurv for the cheating bastard. That said, as much as she lets him, her brothers, and every single one of her friends, walk all over her because they know that getting her back with the dude who impregnates women is the best thing for her, she did do a decent job of holding out against him. She knows from the beginning she's still in love with him, but she also knows that she can never ever trust him. Her motives weren't as nearly Girl Power as I would like (she's more worried that Luke will never desire her than about his fidelity) but a hold out is a hold out.
As I mentioned, this was an 80s HP (I always play a game with myself on these to try and figure out when the book was written and I was pretty off on this one -- I guessed '81 or '82 and it was originally published in '89, so I was off by the better part of a decade) and so the cheese factor is pretty rampant. You can't pick one of these up without expecting it. .
When looked at on its own, this book... well... it's not all that good. In fact, even though this is going on my Keepers shelf, I'm not sure I'd recommend it. To anyone. Ever. It's just soooo cheesy! Luke does some seriously fucked up maneuvers in getting Jenneth back. Like, stuff that would do 90s-era Stefano DiMera proud.
And there's all these weird coincidences -- like there is not a bit of privacy around the house. Every five minutes some nosy neighbor walks in or peeks through a window or whatever.
This book won't win any awards for women's lib, but I didn't expect it to. Cheating books almost never do it for me but I always pick them up anyway -- I want to see if the asshat cheating MMC can be redeemed and the author almost always drops the ball by putting the onus on the FMC to forgive when forgiveness hasn't even been asked for, like there aren't serious trust issues going on and like the MMC shouldn't have to work to get his woman back. However, I gotta say, this one did it for me. I left the book getting why Jenneth would take Luke back and not totally hating her for it . Plus, my inner angst whore was incredibly happy with this one -- cheese, spinelessness and all. I would only recommend this to someone who is familiar with the OTT soaptastic craziness of HPs and is also familiar with how that would have been magnified in the 80s. This is not a book for romance novel beginners or for people who want to see an FMC with a take-charge attitude and a fuck you, I don't need a cheater in my life mantra. That said, this, like some other romance novels I'm not proud of but love anyway, will have to be pried out of my cold, dead hands.
October 25, 2012
Someone club me before I willingly enter into a relationship with another book like this. So. Much. Anguish. So much manipulation, by old friends, gossipy neighbours, darling little moppets, concerned twin brothers ... and of course the hero of the tale. Perhaps I just have to be in the mood for an engagement broken because the hero has made another gal pregnant*, a heroine who is still a virgin eight years later because the scumbag hero has left her frozen -- who knows? There are enough lies and deliberate misunderstandings in this book to wallpaper a house and I just got tired of it. There simply isn't enough day-to-day happiness in this book. Yes the flashbacks reveal a couple in love but he's so much the Older Wiser boyfriend and she's this naive head-over-heels young girl. Later, when they're under the same roof (and don't even ask how that came about -- the heroine with the spine of a snail letting it happen was so totally bizarre) and then HAVE to get married -- it couldn't have been a more dismal atmosphere. There has to be enough joy to leaven the angst in these tales and there wasn't here.
* or has he ...
* or has he ...
September 26, 2021
The innocent's temptation
Jenneth knew she wasn't the only woman in the world to have been let down by the man she loved and expected to marry. She knew people went on to rebuild their lives and find lasting relationships. So why couldn't she seem to move on and forget Luke Rathby?
But Luke wasn't the sort of man who was easily forgotten. And when he came back into her life—and she became nanny to his little girl—Jenneth realized there was no escaping her feelings for Luke, and that his presence was about to create havoc all over again!
Originally published in 1989
Jenneth knew she wasn't the only woman in the world to have been let down by the man she loved and expected to marry. She knew people went on to rebuild their lives and find lasting relationships. So why couldn't she seem to move on and forget Luke Rathby?
But Luke wasn't the sort of man who was easily forgotten. And when he came back into her life—and she became nanny to his little girl—Jenneth realized there was no escaping her feelings for Luke, and that his presence was about to create havoc all over again!
Originally published in 1989
September 5, 2012
The novel was great, right up until the end. At that point I could of happily shot the hero in the head for being such an idiot. Children are not responsible for their parents mistakes and the hero shouldn't have did what he did. It was stupid. It ruined some of the book.
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September 30, 2025There’s a reason these books are hidden in the back of Dollar Generals.
October 19, 2018
This is one of those stories where it looks like the hero can never redeem himself. Luke Rathby broke their engagement in order to marry a girl he had got pregnant. The broken hearted heroine, Jenneth, has spent most of the intervening eight years bringing up her younger brothers after her parents died in an accident. She has lost confidence in herself as a desirable woman because Luke obviously didn't want her and had to go elsewhere for his pleasure so she has no social life.
Now widower Luke with adorable daughter Angelica has plunged back into her life. First at a family wedding and then moving to York, where Jenneth lives with the boys. He overhears something at the wedding that gives him hope, and with the cooperation of Jenneth's brothers, he forges ahead with a plan to get back into her life.
Jenneth was one of Jordan's distraught, over sensitive heroines who blames herself for everything, even her fiance cheating on her. Luke is full of guilt for what he did to her and has come to see that the choices he made in the past were not necessarily the best ones, especially for Jenneth.
There was a lot of grief in this story and the heroes actions were a little over the top but his reasoning was sound, considering how stubborn and withdrawn the heroine acted around him.
The ending was nice and satisfying.
Now widower Luke with adorable daughter Angelica has plunged back into her life. First at a family wedding and then moving to York, where Jenneth lives with the boys. He overhears something at the wedding that gives him hope, and with the cooperation of Jenneth's brothers, he forges ahead with a plan to get back into her life.
Jenneth was one of Jordan's distraught, over sensitive heroines who blames herself for everything, even her fiance cheating on her. Luke is full of guilt for what he did to her and has come to see that the choices he made in the past were not necessarily the best ones, especially for Jenneth.
There was a lot of grief in this story and the heroes actions were a little over the top but his reasoning was sound, considering how stubborn and withdrawn the heroine acted around him.
The ending was nice and satisfying.
April 2, 2025
Started off strong, with potential for an angsty read. Unfortunately, the h was spineless and never spoke up for herself, not even when it came to marriage she did not want.
September 9, 2018
The book was silly. The hero discovers a secret that has the potential to hurt his dying and sickly mother. He does the most illogical and stupid thing he could to solve the problem. He regrets it within months. The solution involved breaking up with his fiancee who is left heartbroken. This is our h. She withdraws into herself and takes her responsibilities very seriously. She throws herself into her work and raising her twin brothers.
The story starts with her having to go to a wedding and Luke (H and ex) is there. The H seemed shady to me for the following reasons:
1. He treats the h like she is a slut because she supposedly had boyfriends after him. Umm you dumped her and she can do whatever she wants. Plus you were cruel while dumping her so she could move on.
2. H treats her like crap all the way until he learns she's a virgin. Oh, she saved herself for him so it's fine that the heroine is broken and in pain. He'll fix all this with his magic penis I guess. In the book it's written as though the H is good to her after learning she still loves him but I don't buy it.
3. The hero takes advantage of the heroine's drunken state. He wasn't able to take full advantage because he was interrupted but he was well on his way to committing rape.
I had some high expectations of this book but the hero is garbage and the heroine deserves better even if she is quite dumb.
P.S. that whole plotline of the H, h's twin brothers and her friends forcing her into marrying the H and ignoring all her issues with it was pathetic. It reeked of sexism like she isn't a grown woman who has the right to reject a man. She was forced into the wedding against her wishes. What a garbage book.
The story starts with her having to go to a wedding and Luke (H and ex) is there. The H seemed shady to me for the following reasons:
1. He treats the h like she is a slut because she supposedly had boyfriends after him. Umm you dumped her and she can do whatever she wants. Plus you were cruel while dumping her so she could move on.
2. H treats her like crap all the way until he learns she's a virgin. Oh, she saved herself for him so it's fine that the heroine is broken and in pain. He'll fix all this with his magic penis I guess. In the book it's written as though the H is good to her after learning she still loves him but I don't buy it.
3. The hero takes advantage of the heroine's drunken state. He wasn't able to take full advantage because he was interrupted but he was well on his way to committing rape.
I had some high expectations of this book but the hero is garbage and the heroine deserves better even if she is quite dumb.
P.S. that whole plotline of the H, h's twin brothers and her friends forcing her into marrying the H and ignoring all her issues with it was pathetic. It reeked of sexism like she isn't a grown woman who has the right to reject a man. She was forced into the wedding against her wishes. What a garbage book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2021
"Πικρή Προδοσία" - Penny Jordan, Σειρά Συλλογή, νούμερο 1120, έτος έκδοσης στην Ελλάδα: 1990
Η Τζένεθ, δεν ήταν η μοναδική γυναίκα η οποία είχε προδοθεί, από τον άντρα που πίστευε ότι την αγαπούσε. Οι περισσότερες όμως κατάφερναν να το ξεπεράσουν, να φτιάξουν τη ζωή τους και να δημιουργήσουν καινούριες σχέσεις. Αλλά η Τζένεθ, δεν μπορούσε να ξεχάσει τον Λιούκ. Οχτώ χρόνια είχαν περάσει από τη μέρα που την εγκατέλειψε για να παντρευτεί μιαν άλλη κι η πληγή του χωρισμού, αιμορραγούσε μέσα της.
Κι όταν ο Λιούκ εμφανίζεται και πάλι μπροστά της για να τη διεκδικήσει για μια ακόμα φορά, ο έρωτάς της γι' αυτόν ξαναφουντώνει. Είναι όμως εκείνος ειλικρινής τώρα μαζί της; Μήπως πίσω από τα λόγια αγάπης που της λέει, κρύβεται μια νέα προδοσία;
Η ΠΕΝΥ ΤΖΟΡΝΤΑΝ ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΠΟΛΥ ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝΕΣ ΜΟΥ ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΙΣ! Η ΣΥΓΚΕΚΡΙΜΕΝΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΛΙΓΕΣ ΔΟΥΛΕΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΜΟΥ ΑΡΕΣΑΝ!!!ΩΡΑΙΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ!!!
Η Τζένεθ, δεν ήταν η μοναδική γυναίκα η οποία είχε προδοθεί, από τον άντρα που πίστευε ότι την αγαπούσε. Οι περισσότερες όμως κατάφερναν να το ξεπεράσουν, να φτιάξουν τη ζωή τους και να δημιουργήσουν καινούριες σχέσεις. Αλλά η Τζένεθ, δεν μπορούσε να ξεχάσει τον Λιούκ. Οχτώ χρόνια είχαν περάσει από τη μέρα που την εγκατέλειψε για να παντρευτεί μιαν άλλη κι η πληγή του χωρισμού, αιμορραγούσε μέσα της.
Κι όταν ο Λιούκ εμφανίζεται και πάλι μπροστά της για να τη διεκδικήσει για μια ακόμα φορά, ο έρωτάς της γι' αυτόν ξαναφουντώνει. Είναι όμως εκείνος ειλικρινής τώρα μαζί της; Μήπως πίσω από τα λόγια αγάπης που της λέει, κρύβεται μια νέα προδοσία;
Η ΠΕΝΥ ΤΖΟΡΝΤΑΝ ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΠΟΛΥ ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝΕΣ ΜΟΥ ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΙΣ! Η ΣΥΓΚΕΚΡΙΜΕΝΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΛΙΓΕΣ ΔΟΥΛΕΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΜΟΥ ΑΡΕΣΑΝ!!!ΩΡΑΙΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ!!!
August 24, 2020
10 years??
June 25, 2018
Before I begin, I would like to state how very lucky I consider myself to have found out about BookChor, and if you haven’t, let me tell you- you are missing out on the best steal deals on books that there ever have been.
I bought Bitter Betrayals from BookChor for below 100, and I am very glad of it. Mills and Boon books have been my guilty pleasure, ever since I started reading them at 17. I like that they are quite lighthearted and fluffy to read- often short enough to complete in one seating. Bitter Betrayal is one such book
I think the author has very tragically described how rejection can change a person, like we see in our protagonist Jenneth. This brings to light also the bitter side of the real world- something one does not always see in books of this genre. The various issues or themes, this brought up were very thought-provoking- trust, self-esteem, friendship, and of course love. The author has also brought in the real life issue of sex- sexual relationships without the entanglements of love, especially in Eleanor. This perhaps will help to slowly dispel the “virgin” concept, so much prevalent in the Mills and Boon series, especially of the 20th century. Brotherly/familial love and concern is also another theme seen here- we have Nick and Kit, and then Angelina, all of whose love for Jenneth is clearly seen in the book.
Apart from the characters, I saw a few irregularities in the plot. The whole way that the marriage came about- the reason, which everyone had so easily accepted, seemed too far-fetched to me. It felt like the author was trying to just get Jenneth and Luke, her male counterpart, to tie the knot, in any way that was possible. Like in most Mills and Boon books, the man is always arrogant and dominating, and Bitter Betrayal is no exception. However, we were given glimpses into Luke’s point of view at times, nad I found it a refreshing take.
I have read a Mills and Boon after a long time and truly enjoyed it. However, it was a light read nonetheless- something I picked up one night when I couldn’t sleep. As such, I rate it a 3/5.
I bought Bitter Betrayals from BookChor for below 100, and I am very glad of it. Mills and Boon books have been my guilty pleasure, ever since I started reading them at 17. I like that they are quite lighthearted and fluffy to read- often short enough to complete in one seating. Bitter Betrayal is one such book
I think the author has very tragically described how rejection can change a person, like we see in our protagonist Jenneth. This brings to light also the bitter side of the real world- something one does not always see in books of this genre. The various issues or themes, this brought up were very thought-provoking- trust, self-esteem, friendship, and of course love. The author has also brought in the real life issue of sex- sexual relationships without the entanglements of love, especially in Eleanor. This perhaps will help to slowly dispel the “virgin” concept, so much prevalent in the Mills and Boon series, especially of the 20th century. Brotherly/familial love and concern is also another theme seen here- we have Nick and Kit, and then Angelina, all of whose love for Jenneth is clearly seen in the book.
Apart from the characters, I saw a few irregularities in the plot. The whole way that the marriage came about- the reason, which everyone had so easily accepted, seemed too far-fetched to me. It felt like the author was trying to just get Jenneth and Luke, her male counterpart, to tie the knot, in any way that was possible. Like in most Mills and Boon books, the man is always arrogant and dominating, and Bitter Betrayal is no exception. However, we were given glimpses into Luke’s point of view at times, nad I found it a refreshing take.
I have read a Mills and Boon after a long time and truly enjoyed it. However, it was a light read nonetheless- something I picked up one night when I couldn’t sleep. As such, I rate it a 3/5.
April 3, 2019
Oh, God. Where do I start with this. Let me get the positives out first. I liked the basic premise, and the roller coaster ride of emotions that PJ was able to pack into <160 pages. But that’s about it.
The way Luke goes about reuniting with his ‘love’ (and I’m being sarcastic with that) is to bully, intimidate, insult and just generally behave cruelly towards her and to not take her obvious feelings into account as his own wants and needs were the driving factor in this story.
My heart went out to Jen. To have, not only your brothers, but also your friends get behind this [not fit for printing expletive]’s plan to bulldoze his way back into her life, and take advantage of a moment of weakness to coerce her into marriage is beyond belief. Her obvious mental anguish and distress is just ignored as the plans for the wedding are made and the wedding is conducted. I have no words for the level of arrogance that takes. She should have just kicked him in the balls and walked over him as she ran out the door.
Then to top it all off, his daughter is in hospital for the night and they end up going home (kids okay), and the full story of what happened to cause their breakup is revealed. Now that douchecanoe, instead of actually leading with the truth all those weeks ago when he decided on his course of action, finally sits down and explains it all to her and asks forgiveness - and she give it to him. No worries, mate. And they all live happily ever after. The End.
Grrrrrrr. I almost broke my iPad at one stage reading this crap. Definitely not a blueprint for how to have a relationship. However, I gave this 2 stars because it was strangely addictive crap that I couldn’t put down as I ranted and raved about this asshole. So, job well done, Penny Jordan.
2 stars.
The way Luke goes about reuniting with his ‘love’ (and I’m being sarcastic with that) is to bully, intimidate, insult and just generally behave cruelly towards her and to not take her obvious feelings into account as his own wants and needs were the driving factor in this story.
My heart went out to Jen. To have, not only your brothers, but also your friends get behind this [not fit for printing expletive]’s plan to bulldoze his way back into her life, and take advantage of a moment of weakness to coerce her into marriage is beyond belief. Her obvious mental anguish and distress is just ignored as the plans for the wedding are made and the wedding is conducted. I have no words for the level of arrogance that takes. She should have just kicked him in the balls and walked over him as she ran out the door.
Then to top it all off, his daughter is in hospital for the night and they end up going home (kids okay), and the full story of what happened to cause their breakup is revealed. Now that douchecanoe, instead of actually leading with the truth all those weeks ago when he decided on his course of action, finally sits down and explains it all to her and asks forgiveness - and she give it to him. No worries, mate. And they all live happily ever after. The End.
Grrrrrrr. I almost broke my iPad at one stage reading this crap. Definitely not a blueprint for how to have a relationship. However, I gave this 2 stars because it was strangely addictive crap that I couldn’t put down as I ranted and raved about this asshole. So, job well done, Penny Jordan.
2 stars.
September 29, 2018
.......so is the little girl okay?......And you both are going to have to tell your 'daughter' the truth cause this is gonna mess with her psyche. Very much disliked the hero, he just push back into the heroine's life and takes over, forces her to be a mother(didn't ask), moved into her house(didn't ask), announced their engagement to cover his ass(heroine drunk so her answer wouldn't count if he asked her), planned out the wedding/honeymoon without any input for the BRIDE, oh and married another girl to cover some stuff! Heroine wasn't much better because she really wasn't fleshed out, she was just moved around and talked to, she was frozen emotionally since the hero left and really doesn't connect with the daughter as much as the daughter connects with her. Not one of the better reunions.
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May 25, 2024Total and utter rubbish.
I sure as heck didn't finishing reading because I just couldn't.
I'll tell you what, have you ever felt like vomiting whilst reading the worst book of your life? It wasn't like this book was disgusting, it was just irritating.
I'm a sucker for OW romances from HQP and heck, even cheating, but this book was downright unbelievable.
The no backbone heroine, the unprotective brothers and best friend and the entire characters. The annoying, disgusting, slimy and manipulative hero and his dumb kid *eye roll*
This book almost made me hate kids. Waste of time and money, I wouldn't want my enemy to read this.
Edit: I decided to fast forward to the end (I couldn't help it) I read the hero's confession and i felt little relief, but not enough for me to actually read this book properly.
I still hate the book
I sure as heck didn't finishing reading because I just couldn't.
I'll tell you what, have you ever felt like vomiting whilst reading the worst book of your life? It wasn't like this book was disgusting, it was just irritating.
I'm a sucker for OW romances from HQP and heck, even cheating, but this book was downright unbelievable.
The no backbone heroine, the unprotective brothers and best friend and the entire characters. The annoying, disgusting, slimy and manipulative hero and his dumb kid *eye roll*
This book almost made me hate kids. Waste of time and money, I wouldn't want my enemy to read this.
Edit: I decided to fast forward to the end (I couldn't help it) I read the hero's confession and i felt little relief, but not enough for me to actually read this book properly.
I still hate the book
October 24, 2024
I hated it.
Heroine was extremely weak and pathetic. I don't find her being celibate pathetic, I can understand her not wanting to date other men after hero cheated on her, got another woman pregnant then married other woman. However what's pathetic is when he does reenter her life she allows him and that child to live with her. She allows those around her to talk her into her doing that.
What he told her he did was unforgivable and it was pathetic of her for softening towards him believing that he did cheat and get another woman pregnant. It would have been more palatable to read had he told her earlier in the book what had happened 8 years before (that he married his father's pregnant mistress to protect his dying mother from knowing her husband was terrible). Np.
Heroine was extremely weak and pathetic. I don't find her being celibate pathetic, I can understand her not wanting to date other men after hero cheated on her, got another woman pregnant then married other woman. However what's pathetic is when he does reenter her life she allows him and that child to live with her. She allows those around her to talk her into her doing that.
What he told her he did was unforgivable and it was pathetic of her for softening towards him believing that he did cheat and get another woman pregnant. It would have been more palatable to read had he told her earlier in the book what had happened 8 years before (that he married his father's pregnant mistress to protect his dying mother from knowing her husband was terrible). Np.
June 18, 2023
I tried to give this one a try but I just couldn’t care for it. Hero was a turn off. He married another woman. Also, this one must be one of those experimental ones because we obviously get many others’ POV——-as well as the hero’s & of course we must have the heroine’s endless memory bank, too. Definitely a telling book & not enough showing. Hero’s daughter was a plot device to get the long lost lovers together. I feel like most kids wouldn’t act like that. The little girl wanted a mommy but the way she converse/behaved seems to only served that purpose. Ok, little matchmaker in the making.
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