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malin12ccf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The readers met both the protagonists in this novel briefly in the first book in the series, En enda natt, which is also where they first ran into each other.
At the beginning of this book, idealistic doctor Isobel Sørensen is angry and stressed because the organisation she works for most of the year, Medpax, is struggling for funds, and she's becoming convinced that it's her fault. On the previous occasions when she has run into Alexander de la Grip and he's tried to flirt with her (he seems to attempt to charm and flirt with every woman he meets), she has been very rudely dismissive of him. Now she's worried that the pampered playboy has decided to withdraw the annual contribution he used to give Medpax. Her boss doesn't really care what reasons Isobel might have for disliking Alexander, or frankly whether he's the devil himself. She orders Isobel to arrange a meeting with him, and be polite, pleasant and make sure he starts donating money again.
As it turns out, Alexander de la Grip has not stopped the money because he feels insulted or snubbed by Isobel, he's just been dealing with his personal demons by trying to drown them in alcohol and casual sex, and he hasn't been monitoring his many business ventures very well for the past six months to a year. He's rather amused at Isobel's sudden change in behaviour towards him. He promises to make sure his money people start paying the organization again, and tempts Isobel to go on a date with him by promising an additional (ridiculously large) donation.
Once Alexander decides to clean up his life and make something of himself to be worthy of Isobel, he does so very quickly indeed. Once Isobel actually gives him the time of day and starts talking to him, she discovers that her snap judgements of him have been unfair, and that there is a lot more to Alexander than his looks, wealth and seeming carelessness. Once she starts uncovering the real man, she can't help but be drawn to him. But Alexander isn't the only one with emotional baggage, and strong mutual physical attraction isn't going to be enough for them to build a lasting relationship.
As I'm sure you can tell from my rather uninspired plot summary, there is a lot of 'come here, go away' (thanks, Mrs. J) in this book, and both protagonists have a lot of emotional baggage that makes it difficult for them to trust, commit, or believe themselves worthy of love.
Alexander deals with his terrible parents' coldness by being an international playboy/manwhore and being seen publicly drunk in the press as often as possible, preferably with one or two socialite bimbos surrounding him. Nevertheless, he is also revealed to be extremely intelligent, able to read up and learn about pretty much any subject very quickly when he sets his mind to it. He's also apparently a gazillionaire, having invested early in tech and app development, not to mention his best friend's restaurant ventures, and now he can just keep raking in cash (and spending it . Due to his many trust issues, and his self-esteem issues, he doesn't want anyone to know about this side of him, not even his sister whom he loves and respects, and certainly not the clever doctor he's falling for. Just like no one suspects charming and slightly indifferent to anything serious billionaire Bruce Wayne of being dour vigilante Batman, absolutely no one would suspect international playboy Alexander de la Grip of being extremely clever and a secret philantropist.
Isobel has severe mommy issues, having been raised by her grandmother while her narcissistic mother and withholding father were off doing their own things. Since both her grandfather and her mother were skilled doctors who devoted their lives to foreign aid work and rescue operations in far-flung places, Isobel was never going to be able to choose another career, but nevertheless defied her mother by joining MSF and working for a pittance most of the time, doing a lot less of the schmoozing with rich people to collect funds and a lot more of traveling to dangerous places to provide medical assistance to those who have nothing. She also secretly dreams of kinky things like BDSM, but feels like a freak for wanting what seems to be fairly low-level kink stuff. Being tied up and spanked isn't that far off the vanilla path, but from her reluctance to share her fantasies, you'd think she wanted something much more unusual.
This book is long and meandering and also deals with Alexander's depressed older brother's atonement for the bad shit he did as a teenager and his possible redemption. He is falling in love with his family's former cleaning lady, who also happens to be much younger than him and a very hard-working immigrant, so there's an age gap and a massive class difference to consider. Åsa and Michel, who spent most of the last novel avoiding one another before suddenly realising their feelings for one another towards the end, are now getting married in a massive society wedding in Stockholm (Alexander brings Isobel as his date). We also get to see more of Natalia and David, and what seems to be their ridiculously happy home life. This book is over 500 pages long, and could have benefitted from an editor to trim some storylines.
What this text certainly did not need was a last-minute (like last 40 pages or so) kidnapping drama with Isobel in danger and Alexander throwing tons of money at mercenaries to get her rescued (and getting himself shot in the process). Not sure that was the best way to resolve their final act breakup.
This is my second Arhnstedt novel, and I'm enjoying it. There's only one book left in this series, and it seems to focus on the security expert who helps Alexander towards the end of the book (and who's believed to be dead by everyone), so it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.
Judging a book by its cover: While the green colour of the dress is lovely and the model has a wealth of red hair that makes it obvious that this is supposed to be Isobel, I hate the partially-cropped head view, and there's something about the torso on the woman that just looks awkward to me. Not sure why.
At the beginning of this book, idealistic doctor Isobel Sørensen is angry and stressed because the organisation she works for most of the year, Medpax, is struggling for funds, and she's becoming convinced that it's her fault. On the previous occasions when she has run into Alexander de la Grip and he's tried to flirt with her (he seems to attempt to charm and flirt with every woman he meets), she has been very rudely dismissive of him. Now she's worried that the pampered playboy has decided to withdraw the annual contribution he used to give Medpax. Her boss doesn't really care what reasons Isobel might have for disliking Alexander, or frankly whether he's the devil himself. She orders Isobel to arrange a meeting with him, and be polite, pleasant and make sure he starts donating money again.
As it turns out, Alexander de la Grip has not stopped the money because he feels insulted or snubbed by Isobel, he's just been dealing with his personal demons by trying to drown them in alcohol and casual sex, and he hasn't been monitoring his many business ventures very well for the past six months to a year. He's rather amused at Isobel's sudden change in behaviour towards him. He promises to make sure his money people start paying the organization again, and tempts Isobel to go on a date with him by promising an additional (ridiculously large) donation.
Once Alexander decides to clean up his life and make something of himself to be worthy of Isobel, he does so very quickly indeed. Once Isobel actually gives him the time of day and starts talking to him, she discovers that her snap judgements of him have been unfair, and that there is a lot more to Alexander than his looks, wealth and seeming carelessness. Once she starts uncovering the real man, she can't help but be drawn to him. But Alexander isn't the only one with emotional baggage, and strong mutual physical attraction isn't going to be enough for them to build a lasting relationship.
As I'm sure you can tell from my rather uninspired plot summary, there is a lot of 'come here, go away' (thanks, Mrs. J) in this book, and both protagonists have a lot of emotional baggage that makes it difficult for them to trust, commit, or believe themselves worthy of love.
Alexander deals with his terrible parents' coldness by being an international playboy/manwhore and being seen publicly drunk in the press as often as possible, preferably with one or two socialite bimbos surrounding him. Nevertheless, he is also revealed to be extremely intelligent, able to read up and learn about pretty much any subject very quickly when he sets his mind to it. He's also apparently a gazillionaire, having invested early in tech and app development, not to mention his best friend's restaurant ventures, and now he can just keep raking in cash (and spending it . Due to his many trust issues, and his self-esteem issues, he doesn't want anyone to know about this side of him, not even his sister whom he loves and respects, and certainly not the clever doctor he's falling for. Just like no one suspects charming and slightly indifferent to anything serious billionaire Bruce Wayne of being dour vigilante Batman, absolutely no one would suspect international playboy Alexander de la Grip of being extremely clever and a secret philantropist.
Isobel has severe mommy issues, having been raised by her grandmother while her narcissistic mother and withholding father were off doing their own things. Since both her grandfather and her mother were skilled doctors who devoted their lives to foreign aid work and rescue operations in far-flung places, Isobel was never going to be able to choose another career, but nevertheless defied her mother by joining MSF and working for a pittance most of the time, doing a lot less of the schmoozing with rich people to collect funds and a lot more of traveling to dangerous places to provide medical assistance to those who have nothing. She also secretly dreams of kinky things like BDSM, but feels like a freak for wanting what seems to be fairly low-level kink stuff. Being tied up and spanked isn't that far off the vanilla path, but from her reluctance to share her fantasies, you'd think she wanted something much more unusual.
This book is long and meandering and also deals with Alexander's depressed older brother's atonement for the bad shit he did as a teenager and his possible redemption. He is falling in love with his family's former cleaning lady, who also happens to be much younger than him and a very hard-working immigrant, so there's an age gap and a massive class difference to consider. Åsa and Michel, who spent most of the last novel avoiding one another before suddenly realising their feelings for one another towards the end, are now getting married in a massive society wedding in Stockholm (Alexander brings Isobel as his date). We also get to see more of Natalia and David, and what seems to be their ridiculously happy home life. This book is over 500 pages long, and could have benefitted from an editor to trim some storylines.
This is my second Arhnstedt novel, and I'm enjoying it. There's only one book left in this series, and it seems to focus on the security expert who helps Alexander towards the end of the book (and who's believed to be dead by everyone), so it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.
Judging a book by its cover: While the green colour of the dress is lovely and the model has a wealth of red hair that makes it obvious that this is supposed to be Isobel, I hate the partially-cropped head view, and there's something about the torso on the woman that just looks awkward to me. Not sure why.
blubberbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Jeg var vild med "Arvingen", men det er intet imod "Løftet". Den fik mig til at smile, hjertet til at boble og tårerne til at løbe. Den er velskrevet, fuld af følelser og kærlighed.
ecka2's review against another edition
4.0
http://frokenchristina.blogspot.se/2017/01/en-enda-hemlighet-av-simona-ahrnstedt.html
rallyk's review against another edition
4.0
Първото ревю за 2017 се задава (под секрет това ми бе последната книга за 2016). Както казах имам периоди в които обичам да се глезя с някоя и друга по-женска книга. Сметнах продължението на „Само една нощ“ от Симона Арнщед за напълно подходящо.
https://bloodyrosered.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/simona-arnshted-razkriva-taini/
https://bloodyrosered.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/simona-arnshted-razkriva-taini/
littermentart's review against another edition
3.0
Väldigt seg men den tog sig lite grann till slutet i alla fall.
chaari's review against another edition
3.0
Jetzt bin ich endlich zum zweiten Teil der One Night Only Reihe von Simona Ahrnstedt gekommen, nachdem ich Teil 1 fast schon vor einem Jahr gelesen habe, war es hie und da ein bisschen schwierig wieder in die Story und in das Setting zu finden. Obwohl Ein Einziges Geheimnis auch unabhängig von seinem Vorgänger gelesen werden kann, ist es meiner Meinung doch sinnvoll Teil 1 vorneweg zu lesen. Viele Charaktere besuchen uns hier noch einmal, man erfährt mehr über die Kindheit der de la Grip-Geschwister, abgesehen natürlich von Alexander, wird auch Peter, der in Ungnade gefallene älteste Sohn, einigermaßen beleuchtet. Diese Nebengeschichte fand ich ziemlich großartig, denn auch wenn ich gewisse Antipathien mit Peter verbinde, war ich zum Ende hin einigermaßen versöhnt mit seiner Person.
Insgesamt ist Ein Einziges Geheimnis eine gelungene Fortsetzung, die schwedische High Society ist mir persönlich sehr fern und ich fand es sehr interessant und spannend von Schlössern und pompösen Hochzeiten zu lesen und wo in Teil 1 noch ein Fokus auf der Finanzwelt lag, wird hier viel von der Arbeit der Ärztin Isobel berichtet. Besonders eindringlich natürlich ihre Arbeit im Chad, sehr eindringlich und soweit ich das beurteilen kann sehr gut recherchiert. Isobel ist eine starke Frau, kompetent, mit Prinzipien, ohne Frage eine sehr interessante Persönlichkeit, allerdings sind wir nie besonders warm miteinander geworden. Das gleiche mit Alexander, er hat seine interessante Ecken, aber insgesamt war er mir zu perfekt, zu "smooth".
Zusammen haben die beiden trotzdem ein schönes Paar abgegeben, obwohl ich Alexander den Partyboy irgendwie schlecht abgenommen habe.
Vom Plot her find ich das Buch ein bisschen überladen - Es fängt als rosarote Leifenblasen-mäßiger-0815 Liebesroman an, nimmt dann über einen kleinen Schlenker unerwartet ein bisschen Sadomaso mit und endet dann in 96 Hours - Taken. Fand ich ein bisschen too much, aber gut, das Buch ist einigermaßen lang. Trotzdem, das Ende war mir bisschen zu viel des guten Willens. Dann lieber noch ein Buch schreiben.
Insgesamt ist Ein Einziges Geheimnis eine gelungene Fortsetzung, die schwedische High Society ist mir persönlich sehr fern und ich fand es sehr interessant und spannend von Schlössern und pompösen Hochzeiten zu lesen und wo in Teil 1 noch ein Fokus auf der Finanzwelt lag, wird hier viel von der Arbeit der Ärztin Isobel berichtet. Besonders eindringlich natürlich ihre Arbeit im Chad, sehr eindringlich und soweit ich das beurteilen kann sehr gut recherchiert. Isobel ist eine starke Frau, kompetent, mit Prinzipien, ohne Frage eine sehr interessante Persönlichkeit, allerdings sind wir nie besonders warm miteinander geworden. Das gleiche mit Alexander, er hat seine interessante Ecken, aber insgesamt war er mir zu perfekt, zu "smooth".
Zusammen haben die beiden trotzdem ein schönes Paar abgegeben, obwohl ich Alexander den Partyboy irgendwie schlecht abgenommen habe.
Vom Plot her find ich das Buch ein bisschen überladen - Es fängt als rosarote Leifenblasen-mäßiger-0815 Liebesroman an, nimmt dann über einen kleinen Schlenker unerwartet ein bisschen Sadomaso mit und endet dann in 96 Hours - Taken. Fand ich ein bisschen too much, aber gut, das Buch ist einigermaßen lang. Trotzdem, das Ende war mir bisschen zu viel des guten Willens. Dann lieber noch ein Buch schreiben.
embla_v's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
4.5
Den andra delen De la Grip-serien.
Alexander är en oseriös playboy och Isobel är en kylig och kompetent läkare. Men alla har hemligheter, kommer de att våga berätta för varandra?
En otroligt spännande, dramatisk, fartfylld och romantisk bok för alla romance älskare.
Alexander är en oseriös playboy och Isobel är en kylig och kompetent läkare. Men alla har hemligheter, kommer de att våga berätta för varandra?
En otroligt spännande, dramatisk, fartfylld och romantisk bok för alla romance älskare.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, Alcoholism, War, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Cursing, Rape, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Torture, Classism, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood and Physical abuse
kleinerbuechernerd's review against another edition
5.0
Dies ist Band 2 der „Only one Night“-Trilogie und beginnt zeitlich direkt im Anschluss an Band 1, allerdings mit anderen Protagonisten.
Alexander ist Natalias Bruder und scheint auf den ersten Blick ein arroganter Schnösel, der nur daran interessiert ist für Parties, Alkohol und Frauen sein Geld aus dem Fenster zu schmeißen und das Leben zu genießen. Er hat mich sehr an Chuck aus Gossip Girl erinnert!
Ihm gegenüber steht Isobel, welche das komplette Gegenteil verkörpert. Sie ist Ärztin und setzt sich zudem in Krisengebieten und wohltätig ein.
Die beiden laufen sich immer wieder über den Weg und Alexander ist von Isobel fasziniert - vielleicht auch durch ihre Ablehnung ihm gegenüber? - und folgsam machen beide eine spannende, interessante und vor allem sehr glaubhafte Entwicklung durch. .
Einziger Kritikpunkt ist das Drama am Schluss, welches einerseits sehr weit hergeholt schien, andererseits in diesen Kreisen wahrscheinlich gar nicht so ungewöhnlich. Auf jeden Fall wieder eine tolle Geschichte von Simona Ahrnstedt, die einen direkt mit Band 3 weiterlesen lassen möchte.
Alexander ist Natalias Bruder und scheint auf den ersten Blick ein arroganter Schnösel, der nur daran interessiert ist für Parties, Alkohol und Frauen sein Geld aus dem Fenster zu schmeißen und das Leben zu genießen. Er hat mich sehr an Chuck aus Gossip Girl erinnert!
Ihm gegenüber steht Isobel, welche das komplette Gegenteil verkörpert. Sie ist Ärztin und setzt sich zudem in Krisengebieten und wohltätig ein.
Die beiden laufen sich immer wieder über den Weg und Alexander ist von Isobel fasziniert - vielleicht auch durch ihre Ablehnung ihm gegenüber? - und folgsam machen beide eine spannende, interessante und vor allem sehr glaubhafte Entwicklung durch. .
Einziger Kritikpunkt ist das Drama am Schluss, welches einerseits sehr weit hergeholt schien, andererseits in diesen Kreisen wahrscheinlich gar nicht so ungewöhnlich. Auf jeden Fall wieder eine tolle Geschichte von Simona Ahrnstedt, die einen direkt mit Band 3 weiterlesen lassen möchte.
trukoni's review against another edition
2.0
Jeg leste første bok i denne serien i fjor fordi Marian Keyes anbefalte den i sitt nyhetsbrev. Den var ganske dårlig. Av en eller annen grunn bega jeg meg likevel ut på lesing av bok to. Denne var enda dårligere. Fordi jeg ikke klarer å la være å fullføre en bok leste jeg hele, men det tok sin tid. Boka er full av klisjeer, den største handler om den slemme mannen som egentlig er god på bunnen. Han er jo bare misforstått stakkars. Heldigvis kommer Den Rette Kvinnen inn i hans liv og da blir han drømmeprinsen. Legg til en sidehistorie om broren, den privilegerte, hvite voldtektsmannen som egentlig er verdens snilleste og blir sammen med den svarte renholderen i familiebedriften, og en ond og iskald mor som på magisk vis blir både varm, inkluderende og fordomsfull samt en rekke annet fjas så har du oppskriften på en bok som irriterte meg grenseløst.
jenno's review against another edition
Alltså de sista 100 sidorna kunde ha kapats då de bara är alldeles för mycket på så många plan. Annars så var den okej. Måste dock skriva att jag gillade "en enda natt" mycket bättre än denna.