Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
slow-paced
talk about a slow burn!! what the fuck was this 😭 Clay was an asshole for the last several chapters and no one can convince me otherwise. the only redeeming parts of this book were the fact that it was about Scandinavians in Mpls and that it was gripping…because i kept waiting for it to get better!!!!
I liked it.
"Things have a way of becoming clearer with time. It lends perspective."
What happened to the girl who romanticized stories in her diary all her growing years? What happened to those dreams that had been an escape hatch then?
"The significance of a ring is in the mind of its wearer, Catherine, not in the fact that it's on a hand." - Clay Forrester
The more love you give away, the more you have.
At that moment he understood why nature had created a two-parent system. Yes, you're a good mother, Catherine, ho thought, but not in emergencies. At times like this, you need me.
"What the hell went wrong?" - Clay
"Absolutely nothing that can't be fixed." - Clairbon
"Things have a way of becoming clearer with time. It lends perspective."
What happened to the girl who romanticized stories in her diary all her growing years? What happened to those dreams that had been an escape hatch then?
"The significance of a ring is in the mind of its wearer, Catherine, not in the fact that it's on a hand." - Clay Forrester
The more love you give away, the more you have.
At that moment he understood why nature had created a two-parent system. Yes, you're a good mother, Catherine, ho thought, but not in emergencies. At times like this, you need me.
"What the hell went wrong?" - Clay
"Absolutely nothing that can't be fixed." - Clairbon
I read this book the first time like 20 years ago. I remember loving the book but not being too thrilled with hero. Thought he was a bit of a jerk at the time.
Now, umpty years later, I still find myself loving the story and not really hating the hero anymore. I think my 20 years older self reads a little more critically and find that I can't just fit characters in a 'she's awesome' or 'he's an ass' slot when the author has made them much more than that.
Catherine Anderson is a young college student who lives in an incredibly dysfunctional and abusive family situation. Clay Forrester is the son of a pair wealthy and loving parents. After a fight with his girlfriend that leaves them broken up for a hot minute, Clay goes on a blind date with Catherine where they get drunk and have sex that results in a baby. The sex and the girl were forgettable for Clay, but worthy of a dissertation in Catherine's diary.
The diary is found by Catherine's drunken, dissolute lazy father and he at last thinks 'his ship has come in'. He plans to bleed the rich Forrester's for all they have in an effort to make them support the baby. But Catherine has other plans. After an awkward and humiliating meeting with Clay and his family, She is determined to be beholden to no one. Clay is freaked out. He doesn't remember Catherine at first but it becomes quickly clear that she is indeed pregnant by him. Clays gets pressure from his parents to make things right, Catherine is determined to thwart her father's plans. The two strike a deal where they will get married just until the baby is born.
But things don't quite work out the way they plan.
In my earlier reading of this book, I was squarely on Catherine's side. She was after all the heroine who was a virgin and got knocked up by a rich, privileged jerk who didn't even remember who she was. Clay was largely just said jerk in my head.
But on this reading, I felt the nuances in their characters and their situations more keenly. They were both trapped in a situation that was of both their makings. So while I blame Clay for being forgetful and casual of his sexual partner, I can also blame Catherine for believing that being a virgin makes it ok to know nothing about birth control.
The fact of the matter is Catherine was such a damaged soul, that any relationship she had with anyone was doomed until she healed. This was made very apparent throughout the course of the awful marriage where because of her upbringing she had no idea how to relate to people comfortably. She was aloof, guarded, protective of herself. She constantly pushed Clay away because she felt more for him than he did for her and she wanted to make sure she didn't get too attached. At one point she and Clay are arguing about love. Catherine is adamant about a marriage needing to be based on love and she is determined not to have what her parents have. But Clay point out that 'on order to be loved you have to be loveable'. I had been very frustrated with Catherine at that time and was in full agreement with him because all the time in her head she was blaming Clay for not loving her like she loved him, she was also constantly cold and pushing him away.
On his side, Clay's crime was full on egotism. He felt resentful and trapped. He didn't choose Catherine on his own so he felt thwarted and self pitying. This was especially evident with his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Jill. She was the one he wanted and he couldn't have her so he blamed everyone for his supposed loss. Meanwhile he longed for her. Again, it is Clay who makes the correct observation. At one point he and tells Jill that they only wanted each other because they were told they couldn't have each other.
What worked really effectively for this book is how each character grows and changes. After the birth of their child, Catherine begins to heal and finally learns what Clay was saying about accepting & giving love. Clay also learns what is it to be guarded and uncertain and protective for of getting too close to someone. They each had to step into the other's shoes for awhile in order to finally come together in the right way.
The book was written in 1985 and initially I was concerned about it feeling dated. In some ways it did, with Catherine using a typewriter rather than a computer to write papers. But the story holds up pretty well for the most part. The most jarring thing was the total lack of concern with drinking while pregnant. Catherine had wine for dinner a few times and also drank champagne during her wedding. That, and of course the total lack of automatic condom use, just felt weird to me in this day and time.
Now, umpty years later, I still find myself loving the story and not really hating the hero anymore. I think my 20 years older self reads a little more critically and find that I can't just fit characters in a 'she's awesome' or 'he's an ass' slot when the author has made them much more than that.
Catherine Anderson is a young college student who lives in an incredibly dysfunctional and abusive family situation. Clay Forrester is the son of a pair wealthy and loving parents. After a fight with his girlfriend that leaves them broken up for a hot minute, Clay goes on a blind date with Catherine where they get drunk and have sex that results in a baby. The sex and the girl were forgettable for Clay, but worthy of a dissertation in Catherine's diary.
The diary is found by Catherine's drunken, dissolute lazy father and he at last thinks 'his ship has come in'. He plans to bleed the rich Forrester's for all they have in an effort to make them support the baby. But Catherine has other plans. After an awkward and humiliating meeting with Clay and his family, She is determined to be beholden to no one. Clay is freaked out. He doesn't remember Catherine at first but it becomes quickly clear that she is indeed pregnant by him. Clays gets pressure from his parents to make things right, Catherine is determined to thwart her father's plans. The two strike a deal where they will get married just until the baby is born.
But things don't quite work out the way they plan.
In my earlier reading of this book, I was squarely on Catherine's side. She was after all the heroine who was a virgin and got knocked up by a rich, privileged jerk who didn't even remember who she was. Clay was largely just said jerk in my head.
But on this reading, I felt the nuances in their characters and their situations more keenly. They were both trapped in a situation that was of both their makings. So while I blame Clay for being forgetful and casual of his sexual partner, I can also blame Catherine for believing that being a virgin makes it ok to know nothing about birth control.
The fact of the matter is Catherine was such a damaged soul, that any relationship she had with anyone was doomed until she healed. This was made very apparent throughout the course of the awful marriage where because of her upbringing she had no idea how to relate to people comfortably. She was aloof, guarded, protective of herself. She constantly pushed Clay away because she felt more for him than he did for her and she wanted to make sure she didn't get too attached. At one point she and Clay are arguing about love. Catherine is adamant about a marriage needing to be based on love and she is determined not to have what her parents have. But Clay point out that 'on order to be loved you have to be loveable'. I had been very frustrated with Catherine at that time and was in full agreement with him because all the time in her head she was blaming Clay for not loving her like she loved him, she was also constantly cold and pushing him away.
On his side, Clay's crime was full on egotism. He felt resentful and trapped. He didn't choose Catherine on his own so he felt thwarted and self pitying. This was especially evident with his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Jill. She was the one he wanted and he couldn't have her so he blamed everyone for his supposed loss. Meanwhile he longed for her. Again, it is Clay who makes the correct observation. At one point he and tells Jill that they only wanted each other because they were told they couldn't have each other.
What worked really effectively for this book is how each character grows and changes. After the birth of their child, Catherine begins to heal and finally learns what Clay was saying about accepting & giving love. Clay also learns what is it to be guarded and uncertain and protective for of getting too close to someone. They each had to step into the other's shoes for awhile in order to finally come together in the right way.
The book was written in 1985 and initially I was concerned about it feeling dated. In some ways it did, with Catherine using a typewriter rather than a computer to write papers. But the story holds up pretty well for the most part. The most jarring thing was the total lack of concern with drinking while pregnant. Catherine had wine for dinner a few times and also drank champagne during her wedding. That, and of course the total lack of automatic condom use, just felt weird to me in this day and time.
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I don't know what to say.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.
A story I'd thought was a historical romance for some reason, but isn't. It's quite dated, which goes beyond a lack of cellphones and the internet, and reaches ideas of things like .
It's the story of Catherine and Clay, who have a one night stand that Clay doesn't even remember, leading to Catherine getting pregnant. Having a scumbag for a father, she is forced to visit Clay's family and "demand" they do the right thing, which is, according to her father, giving him lots and lots of money.
Being a decent human being, Catherine refuses to play along, and makes her own plans instead. She takes them a bit to the extreme, denying Clay the opportunity to help her until he gives her no other choice, and eventually the two enter a marriage of convenience.
I like the "marriage of convenience" trope when it's done right, and I kept waiting for the feels, but when Catherine wasn't being an idiot, Clay was, and vice versa. By the end of the story, the two have had a complete reversal of their roles, and Catherine, who had been a huge pain for the biggest part of the book, has finally found herself, while Clay, who was happy and knew where his future would take him at the beginning of the story, is lost until he realizes that things have changed.
I really wanted to like them, and there were points where I did, but then one or the other would turn around and do something stupid, ruining my groove, so I can't say I was satisfied with the story, despite its satisfying happily ever after.
I don't think I'll attempt reading another of the author's books, both due to my lukewarm feelings for this one and the fact that they'll probably feel just as dated.
Spoiler
drinking during pregnancy, which the heroine does quite a bit, puzzling me every single time, since we do know betterIt's the story of Catherine and Clay, who have a one night stand that Clay doesn't even remember, leading to Catherine getting pregnant. Having a scumbag for a father, she is forced to visit Clay's family and "demand" they do the right thing, which is, according to her father, giving him lots and lots of money.
Being a decent human being, Catherine refuses to play along, and makes her own plans instead. She takes them a bit to the extreme, denying Clay the opportunity to help her until he gives her no other choice, and eventually the two enter a marriage of convenience.
I like the "marriage of convenience" trope when it's done right, and I kept waiting for the feels, but when Catherine wasn't being an idiot, Clay was, and vice versa. By the end of the story, the two have had a complete reversal of their roles, and Catherine, who had been a huge pain for the biggest part of the book, has finally found herself, while Clay, who was happy and knew where his future would take him at the beginning of the story, is lost until he realizes that things have changed.
I really wanted to like them, and there were points where I did, but then one or the other would turn around and do something stupid, ruining my groove, so I can't say I was satisfied with the story, despite its satisfying happily ever after.
I don't think I'll attempt reading another of the author's books, both due to my lukewarm feelings for this one and the fact that they'll probably feel just as dated.
I don't know what to say.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.
This romance is often recommended as a wonderful love story. I had to look up the year it was written because I thought for sure it was from the 50’s. A poor girl on a date with a rich playboy gets pregnant after a one night stand that seems almost like a date rape. Her drunken abusive father finds the rich boy and our story begins with a loveless marriage of convenience. This was very out dated and similar to Peyton Place which I enjoyed more.
I don't know what to say.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.
Dated romance.
Hero goes back to ex that was a non ex in-between being with heroine.
Heroine confronts Hero about what ex has told her, she says
'You've been sleeping with her all the time you lied to me and said you weren't, so why not move in with her permanently? Do you think everybody doesn't know what's been going on between you when you stood at your own wedding reception and French-kissed her in front of everybody there? Did you tell your mother you'd stepped out for air when you disappeared with Jill on New Year's Eve? How dumb do you think I am, Clay? And why are you hanging around here like a stray dog? I'm not going to take you in and feed you and ask you if you'd like to live with me, because I want this farce to be over. I don't want your phony condescension or your two-bit psychoanalysis about my being emotionally crippled! I don't want you coming in here fawning over my daughter—the one I had while you were staying nights at Jill's house. All I want is what you agreed to give me. Child support for Melissa and my college education paid for. And I want you out of here—out!—so I can get on with my life!”'
He denies cheating.
But when she asks him to leave he goes back to the ex, nonex.
HEA if you believe it.