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riskyduck's review against another edition
1.0
Terrible. Dated (and not in a charming way).
Howard tries to convince you the girl's not a spineless bore, and that the guy's not a shallow asshole, but she does not succeed.
I like/love everything Howard's written, even her old books, and this was by far the worst. Skip it, especially if you're a fan of hers.
Howard tries to convince you the girl's not a spineless bore, and that the guy's not a shallow asshole, but she does not succeed.
I like/love everything Howard's written, even her old books, and this was by far the worst. Skip it, especially if you're a fan of hers.
vivienne_rose's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
alisonb's review
2.0
Review includes reference to trigger warning.
The title of this book is apropos to how I feel about the expected happily ever after...the author almost got me on board with the together forever status, until she blew everything up with a misogyny bomb in the end.
This story starts off beautifully with a woman who is emotionally guarded after her miscarriage and divorce five years in the past. Unbeknownst to her, the one man who will gradually pull her out of her protective shield is a man who is using her for information.
The mans name is Max, and Max knows he is a gift to all of womankind. I could not wait for his perfidy to be discovered and for him to have to grovel and be taken down 1000 pegs.
Unfortunately, he does the opposite and takes a high-handed approach that reeked of misogyny, coercion, manipulation, and emotional abuse.
The author had the opportunity to feed into Claire's earlier strength, instead she makes her another helpless woman under the controlling hand of an entitled alpha male type.
I had so much fun with the first 2/3 of this story and then it went downhill and left me feeling bitterly disappointed and dissatisfied.
The title of this book is apropos to how I feel about the expected happily ever after...the author almost got me on board with the together forever status, until she blew everything up with a misogyny bomb in the end.
This story starts off beautifully with a woman who is emotionally guarded after her miscarriage and divorce five years in the past. Unbeknownst to her, the one man who will gradually pull her out of her protective shield is a man who is using her for information.
The mans name is Max, and Max knows he is a gift to all of womankind. I could not wait for his perfidy to be discovered and for him to have to grovel and be taken down 1000 pegs.
Unfortunately, he does the opposite and takes a high-handed approach that reeked of misogyny, coercion, manipulation, and emotional abuse.
The author had the opportunity to feed into Claire's earlier strength, instead she makes her another helpless woman under the controlling hand of an entitled alpha male type.
I had so much fun with the first 2/3 of this story and then it went downhill and left me feeling bitterly disappointed and dissatisfied.
chartsh's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
thebibliophiledoctor's review against another edition
2.0
What a dumb story this is.
So some guy who is pursuing you, you come to know that he was actually not interested you but was using you and yet you forgive him and let him treat you anyway he wants coz hey he is great in bed?
What rubbish !!!
So some guy who is pursuing you, you come to know that he was actually not interested you but was using you and yet you forgive him and let him treat you anyway he wants coz hey he is great in bed?
What rubbish !!!
cranberrytarts's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book in the Spencer-Nyle series. The first book is Almost Forever. While I am ambivalent about Sarah's Child, the first book, I really enjoy this one.
We first meet Max in Sarah's Child. He is vying for the affection of Sarah, much to Rome's disgust. He comes off as a sweet playboy. In this book we realize there is more to him. He's intense and driven, and willing to go after what he wants.
Claire Westbrook learned her lesson about handsome playboys the hard way. With a failed marriage under her belt, she as no intention of repeating past mistakes. Though she's attracted to Max, she isn't willing to act on it because she wants to protect her heart.
Max is there to get information about the company Claire works for so his company can attempt a takeover. He introduces himself as a means to get what he needs, but soon finds he wants the whole business done so he'll be free to be with her.
When Claire finds out Max was using her to get information, it destroys her. She never expected him to treat her that way. Max figures he can take her back to bed and she'll get over being angry..except she isn't just angry, she's devastated.
Claire isn't my favorite Howard heroine. She comes off as a bit of a doormat, though I wouldn't strictly say she is one. She's just leery of letting anyone get too close to her. But her natural reserve means she doesn't always stick up for herself. I don't necessarily dislike her, but she isn't my favorite part of this book. My heart did break for her, however, when she realized Max's betrayal. I even teared up a little.
Max, however, is. I think because he realizes his mistakes and tires to atone. His bumbling in the beginning amused me and his determination to win Claire back made for interesting reading.
We first meet Max in Sarah's Child. He is vying for the affection of Sarah, much to Rome's disgust. He comes off as a sweet playboy. In this book we realize there is more to him. He's intense and driven, and willing to go after what he wants.
Claire Westbrook learned her lesson about handsome playboys the hard way. With a failed marriage under her belt, she as no intention of repeating past mistakes. Though she's attracted to Max, she isn't willing to act on it because she wants to protect her heart.
Max is there to get information about the company Claire works for so his company can attempt a takeover. He introduces himself as a means to get what he needs, but soon finds he wants the whole business done so he'll be free to be with her.
When Claire finds out Max was using her to get information, it destroys her. She never expected him to treat her that way. Max figures he can take her back to bed and she'll get over being angry..except she isn't just angry, she's devastated.
Claire isn't my favorite Howard heroine. She comes off as a bit of a doormat, though I wouldn't strictly say she is one. She's just leery of letting anyone get too close to her. But her natural reserve means she doesn't always stick up for herself. I don't necessarily dislike her, but she isn't my favorite part of this book. My heart did break for her, however, when she realized Max's betrayal. I even teared up a little.
Max, however, is. I think because he realizes his mistakes and tires to atone. His bumbling in the beginning amused me and his determination to win Claire back made for interesting reading.
thenia's review against another edition
3.0
The story of Max and Claire, a couple that meet under false pretenses.
Claire is a corporate secretary whom Max targets as the weak link likely to give him the information he needs for his investigation. The two are attracted to one another, but Claire is very reserved and aloof as a self-defense mechanism, after her failed marriage.
Max is pretty forceful, persisting until he manages to lower her defenses and, able to compartmentalize himself, can't understand why she is so upset when
Despite the short duration of their romance, she has managed to fall in love with him, partly due to the time they spent together, and is devastated when she finds out that he betrayed her. He believes that he can sway her and make it up to her by giving her a job in his company and going back to the way they were.
Unfortunately, he's right and she falls back under his spell without too much effort on his part, and apart from her getting cold feet shortly before the wedding day, it's smooth sailing until they get married.
Engaging story, but I felt that he needed to do a lot of groveling to deserve the happy ever after he got.
Claire is a corporate secretary whom Max targets as the weak link likely to give him the information he needs for his investigation. The two are attracted to one another, but Claire is very reserved and aloof as a self-defense mechanism, after her failed marriage.
Max is pretty forceful, persisting until he manages to lower her defenses and, able to compartmentalize himself, can't understand why she is so upset when
Spoiler
she discovers that the reason why he approached her in the first place was to coax information out of her.Despite the short duration of their romance, she has managed to fall in love with him, partly due to the time they spent together, and is devastated when she finds out that he betrayed her. He believes that he can sway her and make it up to her by giving her a job in his company and going back to the way they were.
Unfortunately, he's right and she falls back under his spell without too much effort on his part, and apart from her getting cold feet shortly before the wedding day, it's smooth sailing until they get married
Engaging story, but I felt that he needed to do a lot of groveling to deserve the happy ever after he got.
bookfun's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Ah I just don't know, so many of LH's books objectively are crap (for me), the MC are assholes, the heroines are pushovers, sooo many tropes that maybe alright for the 80's but are really just so wrong when reading today like the main couple deciding to get pregnant out of the blue just like that, or the MMC practically pushing the FMC into his bed to get her to forgive him . But I still love reading it, I looove the internal monologue of both while still hating their actions... so, yeah, definitely conflicted about these books...
The way the FMC is so insecure is soo annoying! It was driving me crazy!
The way the FMC is so insecure is soo annoying! It was driving me crazy!
ameve2's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0