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Hard To Get
He seemed completely immune to her
Rich girl Lara Schofield had never met a man she couldn't instantly captivate, and in fact she'd made a hobby of collecting hearts and breaking them while she remained personally uninvolved.
Until she encountered Jordan Sinclair. He was devastating, everything a woman could ask for. And he was utterly indifferent to Lara.
But what Lara wanted, Lara got, and she was determined to have Jordan Sinclair. Even if it meant playing with the potent fire of his passion, and playing with Jordan was very dangerous indeed....
Rich girl Lara Schofield had never met a man she couldn't instantly captivate, and in fact she'd made a hobby of collecting hearts and breaking them while she remained personally uninvolved.
Until she encountered Jordan Sinclair. He was devastating, everything a woman could ask for. And he was utterly indifferent to Lara.
But what Lara wanted, Lara got, and she was determined to have Jordan Sinclair. Even if it meant playing with the potent fire of his passion, and playing with Jordan was very dangerous indeed....
191 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
3 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Carole Mortimer
1,289 books900 followersI have written almost 250 romance novels in contemporary and Regency.
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
I am a USA Today Bestselling Author and recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 I received a Pioneer of Romance Award from Romantic Times in the US and in 2012 I was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for my 'outstanding service to literature'.
I am very happily married to Peter with six sons, and live on the Isle of Man
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 28, 2017
I went looking for a trainwreck and I found one! Our heroine has OW tendencies at the beginning of the story. She is beautiful, confident, wilful and selfish. The only child of a rich widower, she is 20 and has been in the party circuit for sometime. She is a virgin, only because she mows over all the weak men in her vicinity before anything can happen.
She sees the hero, a handsome self-made man, and decides she wants him. He gives her “the cut direct” the first time they meet and subsequent times.
The hero is a black hole of animosity – and the heroine keeps getting pulled into his gravitational field whenever they see each other at parties – she won’t let up. Eventually the hero starts talking to her – and he’s also golfing a lot with the h’s dad. After he rescues her from a rapey guy at a party and insulting her, the heroine has decided she’s done with chasing him. And that’s when he approaches her father to ask her out. The heroine doesn’t want to go, but the h’s father thinks the H is better company for her to keep than all the rapey guys she’s been hanging around with. (He and the H walk in on the h’s date – yet another guy - kissing and groping her)
They have a lovely time on their date. Hero keeps running off to Germany, so their courtship is a slow burn. Heroine waits around for him to call, and when she finds out he’s back in London without calling her – she goes out to a party with one of her rapey guy friends. The hero hunts her down (she’s pretty drunk and hanging all over yet another guy) and takes her to his apartment and rapes her because she had it coming after all of her teasing. He is shocked she was a virgin. Heroine is angry and hurt and hates him and questions herself about her conduct – although she never thinks she deserved it. **That whole scene and aftermath is brutal - don't read if triggering. **
The hero gives her a few days and then he shows up at the h’s country home. He is sorry for hurting her and wants to make it up. Heroine forgives him and they go to bed together (in the heroine’s childhood bedroom). Hero proposes. Heroine accepts. They will marry in a month. Her father is happy and reluctantly allows the heroine to give the H her shares in his company on their wedding day.
So far I haven’t said much about the H. He is a blow hot, blow cold kind of guy. He’s obviously attracted to the h, but he shows her no affection except for asking if she is all right at different times and reluctantly complimenting her on her appearance. Something is up with him and that was part of the fun in reading this.
**Don't read the spoiler if you think you want to read this story. I was unspoiled and enjoyed the surprise. **
They marry and don’t have sex on their wedding night or any other night. The heroine moves into his apartment and tries everything to understand why the hero is so cold to her. The hero also starts blocking everything the h’s father does at board meetings.
Finally, five weeks in to the marriage from the hell, the hero reveals his motivation for marrying her. Revenge.
For once, this revenge makes sense. The hero was most certainly wronged as a young boy of ten and the heroine can see that and forgives him right away. Her heart breaking, knowing she is pregnant, she agrees to a divorce without telling him about the baby. If what the hero said is true, there is no way they can make a go of their marriage. The hero is taken aback that she doesn’t plead and argue with him. He even says that since she was his wife, he will provide for her financially. (After ruining her father’s business). It’s all very curious.
The heroine thinks so, too. She goes back to the country house to lick her wounds. Eventually she tells her father the story and finds out that the hero had the story wrong. He should have been angry at his own father and not the heroine’s. There is even concrete proof that in the form of returned letters and packages with his aunt’s address.
The heroine decides she has to take the proof to the H in his country house in Yorkshire. She has an accident on the way and begs her rescuers to save the box of proof before she passes out.
Her father is at the hospital when she wakes up a few days later. Her baby is okay. He tells her that hero knows the truth now and is a changed man. All his hate is gone and he has no reason to live since revenge has been his motivation for twenty years. Heroine agrees to see him. He grovels and explains that at first he was cold because his revenge plans didn’t include her. But then the more he saw her the more he was attracted. By the time he had fallen in love with her and proposed, he still couldn’t let go of his revenge. He was very confused, which is why he stayed away from her during their short marriage. Heroine forgives him and declares her love and tells him about the baby. HEA
This is one intense story and if the heroine’s OW-like behaviour doesn’t put half the readers off, the hero’s rape and coldness will surely sink the other forty per cent. The ten per cent of us who love a train wreck will keep reading to find out just what is making this guy tick. His backstory and how it was entwined with the h’s life and her country house is complicated but it did make me understand where his rage was coming from and why he desperately needed the heroine’s love and understanding once the truth came out. (He could also use some therapy, imo). CM did a masterful job of sprinkling clues about the hero’s true motivation. I was surprised when he told the heroine his backstory, but it all made sense once it was out.
Is this a romance and do I believe in their love? Um. Not really? Amanda Browning managed to pull off a similar kind of revenge story in Savage Destiny, but CM needed more page time to show the H/h together and happy for me to believe the hero was a changed man. The heroine did change and grow in this story. I don’t think she became a doormat at all – she was desperately trying to make lemonade out the lemons the hero kept handing her. She had channeled her OW powers into something more productive and kind.
She sees the hero, a handsome self-made man, and decides she wants him. He gives her “the cut direct” the first time they meet and subsequent times.
The hero is a black hole of animosity – and the heroine keeps getting pulled into his gravitational field whenever they see each other at parties – she won’t let up. Eventually the hero starts talking to her – and he’s also golfing a lot with the h’s dad. After he rescues her from a rapey guy at a party and insulting her, the heroine has decided she’s done with chasing him. And that’s when he approaches her father to ask her out. The heroine doesn’t want to go, but the h’s father thinks the H is better company for her to keep than all the rapey guys she’s been hanging around with. (He and the H walk in on the h’s date – yet another guy - kissing and groping her)
They have a lovely time on their date. Hero keeps running off to Germany, so their courtship is a slow burn. Heroine waits around for him to call, and when she finds out he’s back in London without calling her – she goes out to a party with one of her rapey guy friends. The hero hunts her down (she’s pretty drunk and hanging all over yet another guy) and takes her to his apartment and rapes her because she had it coming after all of her teasing. He is shocked she was a virgin. Heroine is angry and hurt and hates him and questions herself about her conduct – although she never thinks she deserved it. **That whole scene and aftermath is brutal - don't read if triggering. **
The hero gives her a few days and then he shows up at the h’s country home. He is sorry for hurting her and wants to make it up. Heroine forgives him and they go to bed together (in the heroine’s childhood bedroom). Hero proposes. Heroine accepts. They will marry in a month. Her father is happy and reluctantly allows the heroine to give the H her shares in his company on their wedding day.
So far I haven’t said much about the H. He is a blow hot, blow cold kind of guy. He’s obviously attracted to the h, but he shows her no affection except for asking if she is all right at different times and reluctantly complimenting her on her appearance. Something is up with him and that was part of the fun in reading this.
**Don't read the spoiler if you think you want to read this story. I was unspoiled and enjoyed the surprise. **
They marry and don’t have sex on their wedding night or any other night. The heroine moves into his apartment and tries everything to understand why the hero is so cold to her. The hero also starts blocking everything the h’s father does at board meetings.
Finally, five weeks in to the marriage from the hell, the hero reveals his motivation for marrying her. Revenge.
For once, this revenge makes sense. The hero was most certainly wronged as a young boy of ten and the heroine can see that and forgives him right away. Her heart breaking, knowing she is pregnant, she agrees to a divorce without telling him about the baby. If what the hero said is true, there is no way they can make a go of their marriage. The hero is taken aback that she doesn’t plead and argue with him. He even says that since she was his wife, he will provide for her financially. (After ruining her father’s business). It’s all very curious.
The heroine thinks so, too. She goes back to the country house to lick her wounds. Eventually she tells her father the story and finds out that the hero had the story wrong. He should have been angry at his own father and not the heroine’s. There is even concrete proof that in the form of returned letters and packages with his aunt’s address.
The heroine decides she has to take the proof to the H in his country house in Yorkshire. She has an accident on the way and begs her rescuers to save the box of proof before she passes out.
Her father is at the hospital when she wakes up a few days later. Her baby is okay. He tells her that hero knows the truth now and is a changed man. All his hate is gone and he has no reason to live since revenge has been his motivation for twenty years. Heroine agrees to see him. He grovels and explains that at first he was cold because his revenge plans didn’t include her. But then the more he saw her the more he was attracted. By the time he had fallen in love with her and proposed, he still couldn’t let go of his revenge. He was very confused, which is why he stayed away from her during their short marriage. Heroine forgives him and declares her love and tells him about the baby. HEA
This is one intense story and if the heroine’s OW-like behaviour doesn’t put half the readers off, the hero’s rape and coldness will surely sink the other forty per cent. The ten per cent of us who love a train wreck will keep reading to find out just what is making this guy tick. His backstory and how it was entwined with the h’s life and her country house is complicated but it did make me understand where his rage was coming from and why he desperately needed the heroine’s love and understanding once the truth came out. (He could also use some therapy, imo). CM did a masterful job of sprinkling clues about the hero’s true motivation. I was surprised when he told the heroine his backstory, but it all made sense once it was out.
Is this a romance and do I believe in their love? Um. Not really? Amanda Browning managed to pull off a similar kind of revenge story in Savage Destiny, but CM needed more page time to show the H/h together and happy for me to believe the hero was a changed man. The heroine did change and grow in this story. I don’t think she became a doormat at all – she was desperately trying to make lemonade out the lemons the hero kept handing her. She had channeled her OW powers into something more productive and kind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2017
An old School revenge HP. Be aware the hero does rape the heroine in this one and is often a cruel ass. Why do I seek out these horrors? That is the million dollar question.
July 16, 2013
Wow! This one was an angst-fest CM style. The spoiled party girl heroine annoyed me so much at the beginning that I thought I would never like her. But the harsh vengeful hero was such an asshole I felt sorry for the poor girl. Hero marries heroine for revenge and has no guilts about doing so cause heroine is a spoiled selfish man eater. She is desperately in love with him but he treats her like shit. Their marriage is hell and when finally the hero reveals his reasons for revenge heroine is in shock and agrees to a divorce. Of course eventually the hero realizes his mistake and confesses his love to heroine but she definitely didn't deserve all this hate. Also there was a rape scene so if you don't like extremely cruel heroes don't read this. Personally I loved it cause it was such an intense angst-fest!
May 28, 2023
Oh boy, when I read “the heroine in pursuit plot” synopsis for this Harlequin Presents, was I ever excited to read it! Heroines who are determined to get their men are my favorite kinds! Alas, when the object of said pursuit is a mean arsehole, the chase isn’t worth it. Still, Hard to Get by Carole Mortimer was a wild, emotional whirlwind. With a more charismatic hero, I could have loved this instead of liking it.
As with so many Presents, this is an utter trainwreck, so you can’t look away.
Lara Sinclair, our heroine, is beautiful, rich, vain, and spoiled–the very opposite of a typical sweet heroine. She’s a daddy’s little girl type. Lara’s used to obtaining everything she wants with ease. All the boys want her. She flirts and trifles with their hearts, never giving what she knows is so easy to get.
At a party, she sees the hero, Jordan Sinclair, and decides she wants him as another toy to play with. She approaches him with supreme confidence just to be stunned by his brutal dismissal.
The game is on, and Lara is more determined than ever to have him.
Lara chases after Jordan, only to be rebuffed at every turn. Even so, Jordan shows up in her life at parties and spends time with her wealthy father getting all buddy-buddy.
Lara overplays her hand with an unhinged guy who then attempts to rape her, and Jordan saves her. He shows contempt for Lara, blaming her for what almost occurred.
Then Jordan does a 180 and decides he’s the man for her. But now she doesn’t want anything to do with him, so Jordan convinces Daddy-dear that it would be in Lara’s best interest to do so.
This is all a somewhat contrived way to get there, but the pair do go out. Before anything serious can occur, Jordan goes off on a business trip. However, it seems as if Jordan is still playing hard to get, as Lara hears he’s back in town, yet he hasn’t contacted her.
So Lara goes on a revenge date with the guy who previously tried to rape her, only to have Jordan show up and find her flirting like a drunken Scarlett O’Hara at a barbeque. So Harlequin’s logic entails that Jordan picks her up like a white knight and brings her to his home before... violating her. Jordan is horrified to find she’s a virgin.
Lara is horrified, too, of course! It was rape, no euphemistic forced seduction here.
Despite this, when Jordan proposes marriage, Lara accepts–to her father’s delight. As a wedding present, Lara’s company shares will be transferred to Jordan. Lara and Jordan get married and embark on a loveless distant union.
Too late, Lara discovers her love for Jordan. She also realizes she’s pregnant. Wisely, she doesn’t tell her husband because Jordan reveals that the reason he married her was for revenge. His revelations about who and why he’s seeking vengeance stun Lara, and she agrees to a divorce.
But you know there’s got to be a happy ending in some over-the-top melodramatic way! There is, and these two insane people will find their way together in an unhealthy romance that will last a lifetime.
Carole Mortimer can make me enjoy some really wacky plots. Unfortunately, Jordan was too cold, which I usually enjoy as a trait in a hero. But he was also ruthless. There was not enough time to understand his motivations until the big revelation. And then it was too little, too late. I never warmed up to him.
Lara, on the other hand, grew as a character from a spoilt rich princess to a young woman of self-regard and control. I liked her and wished she got a better man.
Hard to Get was a heck of a ride, but it felt disjointed and uneven at times. The tug and pull of their relationship could give a reader whiplash. The so-called hero deserved an anvil to the head.
Still, it hits so many crazy buttons; I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it on some level.
3.5 Stars
As with so many Presents, this is an utter trainwreck, so you can’t look away.
Lara Sinclair, our heroine, is beautiful, rich, vain, and spoiled–the very opposite of a typical sweet heroine. She’s a daddy’s little girl type. Lara’s used to obtaining everything she wants with ease. All the boys want her. She flirts and trifles with their hearts, never giving what she knows is so easy to get.
At a party, she sees the hero, Jordan Sinclair, and decides she wants him as another toy to play with. She approaches him with supreme confidence just to be stunned by his brutal dismissal.
The game is on, and Lara is more determined than ever to have him.
Lara chases after Jordan, only to be rebuffed at every turn. Even so, Jordan shows up in her life at parties and spends time with her wealthy father getting all buddy-buddy.
Lara overplays her hand with an unhinged guy who then attempts to rape her, and Jordan saves her. He shows contempt for Lara, blaming her for what almost occurred.
Then Jordan does a 180 and decides he’s the man for her. But now she doesn’t want anything to do with him, so Jordan convinces Daddy-dear that it would be in Lara’s best interest to do so.
This is all a somewhat contrived way to get there, but the pair do go out. Before anything serious can occur, Jordan goes off on a business trip. However, it seems as if Jordan is still playing hard to get, as Lara hears he’s back in town, yet he hasn’t contacted her.
So Lara goes on a revenge date with the guy who previously tried to rape her, only to have Jordan show up and find her flirting like a drunken Scarlett O’Hara at a barbeque. So Harlequin’s logic entails that Jordan picks her up like a white knight and brings her to his home before... violating her. Jordan is horrified to find she’s a virgin.
Lara is horrified, too, of course! It was rape, no euphemistic forced seduction here.
Despite this, when Jordan proposes marriage, Lara accepts–to her father’s delight. As a wedding present, Lara’s company shares will be transferred to Jordan. Lara and Jordan get married and embark on a loveless distant union.
Too late, Lara discovers her love for Jordan. She also realizes she’s pregnant. Wisely, she doesn’t tell her husband because Jordan reveals that the reason he married her was for revenge. His revelations about who and why he’s seeking vengeance stun Lara, and she agrees to a divorce.
But you know there’s got to be a happy ending in some over-the-top melodramatic way! There is, and these two insane people will find their way together in an unhealthy romance that will last a lifetime.
Carole Mortimer can make me enjoy some really wacky plots. Unfortunately, Jordan was too cold, which I usually enjoy as a trait in a hero. But he was also ruthless. There was not enough time to understand his motivations until the big revelation. And then it was too little, too late. I never warmed up to him.
Lara, on the other hand, grew as a character from a spoilt rich princess to a young woman of self-regard and control. I liked her and wished she got a better man.
Hard to Get was a heck of a ride, but it felt disjointed and uneven at times. The tug and pull of their relationship could give a reader whiplash. The so-called hero deserved an anvil to the head.
Still, it hits so many crazy buttons; I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it on some level.
3.5 Stars
April 17, 2016
What can I say about this crazy book? First of all, it was a little weird reading a contemporary that was written in 1984. The heroine was wearing jumpers and lounge pants and I felt nauseated. It didn't even have the appeal of an historical where you appreciate the dress and different setting. The hero was one mean son of a gun! His revenge was OTT, and he didn't lighten up until the last few pages. There is no relief for the reader where the hero gives you some insight into his feelings because the story is told only in the heroine’s fawning POV.
Usually in forced seduction scenes, the heroine succumbs to the hero and you are spared feeling the outrage of rape, but in this book the heroine did not succumb or enjoyed the hero’s attentions. It felt a lot like rape when it was over,(especially since the heroine called it that) and how could you root for such a scumbag after that? I couldn't - and since there was no POV from the hero to help, it left a dirty taste in my mouth. I wanted this guy to suffer and grovel for a very long time, but of course he didn't. He had a TSTL heroine ready to kiss his feet for wanting her- so no need to grovel unduly! I give this book 3 star only because it wasn't boring.
Usually in forced seduction scenes, the heroine succumbs to the hero and you are spared feeling the outrage of rape, but in this book the heroine did not succumb or enjoyed the hero’s attentions. It felt a lot like rape when it was over,(especially since the heroine called it that) and how could you root for such a scumbag after that? I couldn't - and since there was no POV from the hero to help, it left a dirty taste in my mouth. I wanted this guy to suffer and grovel for a very long time, but of course he didn't. He had a TSTL heroine ready to kiss his feet for wanting her- so no need to grovel unduly! I give this book 3 star only because it wasn't boring.
July 7, 2020
"Hard to Get" is the story of Lara and Jordan.
Talk about a smitten doormat!
Our heroine is a beautiful woman, who reveres in male attention. So much so, that when she meets the handsome hero and he does not look twice at her, she is insulted and goes out of her way to charm him. But she continues getting dismissed, while also getting harassed/ assaulted by men who take her flirting as an invitation.
Out of the blue, the hero now wants her and tame her, something that culminates in a rape and later consensual sex. He proposes, she accepts while asking her daddy dearest to transfer all her shares to her husband. But soon she realizes that there is a reason behind his cruelty, and he is out for revenge.
The heroine is just a crazy in love wuss. It did not matter how physically and verbally abusive the hero was, if he was "cheating" on her or if he wanted to destroy her family- all she wanted for him. The hero mopped the floor and walls with her tears, but she was so devoted that she gave in. The story does soften a little, when his reasons are revealed. However, the grovel was bare minimum, and the heroine forgave him before he even said the S of sorry.
Anyways, all the stars for the torture and angst. This is one of those uber cruel romance novels.
Unsafe
3/5
Talk about a smitten doormat!
Our heroine is a beautiful woman, who reveres in male attention. So much so, that when she meets the handsome hero and he does not look twice at her, she is insulted and goes out of her way to charm him. But she continues getting dismissed, while also getting harassed/ assaulted by men who take her flirting as an invitation.
Out of the blue, the hero now wants her and tame her, something that culminates in a rape and later consensual sex. He proposes, she accepts while asking her daddy dearest to transfer all her shares to her husband. But soon she realizes that there is a reason behind his cruelty, and he is out for revenge.
The heroine is just a crazy in love wuss. It did not matter how physically and verbally abusive the hero was, if he was "cheating" on her or if he wanted to destroy her family- all she wanted for him. The hero mopped the floor and walls with her tears, but she was so devoted that she gave in. The story does soften a little, when his reasons are revealed. However, the grovel was bare minimum, and the heroine forgave him before he even said the S of sorry.
Anyways, all the stars for the torture and angst. This is one of those uber cruel romance novels.
Unsafe
3/5
May 16, 2014
Another pathetic female lead with no pride! This book had so much potential but Lara just spoilt it with her whiny clingy behaviour.
February 4, 2021
Heroine tames the anti-hero romance. It took a while for me to finish because it was a slow build up to seeing the hero admit his love...I didn't see him be loving towards the heroine until the last chapter. I began to pause reading numerous times because the hero kept pushing away the heroine. It was still a good romance because in the end the hero was tamed.
March 10, 2022
In the end, it all makes sense.
I have to admit I had many issues with this book. It seemed full of inconsistencies and without a real unity, that is: it’s like the characters have sudden changes of personality and their behavior is very bizarre.
Sometimes it’s almost psychotic because when something very bad or very good happens, they don’t have a behavior and feelings which are congruent to the situation.
Adding to this, they both are unpleasant characters.
And I think the author didn’t really revised her work, and it lacks a proper editing, even if in the end it all comes out.
It’s a good revenge story, and it should be much better if the author hadn’t pictured the heroine as a spoiled and selfish narcissist. A young woman who’s beautiful and rich and at 21 acts like she was 15.
Her selfishness and lack of empathy is really annoying. This is not a heroine who’s hurt easily, I thought.
She meets the hero and wants him, and since he’s indifferent to her she wants him more, until she really stalks him and is bitchy to his dates. This behavior was appalling and the hero of course is annoyed and tries to avoid her going out with ow. After some weeks suddenly he changes his mind and wants to date her, but since she’s selfish and childish, they keep on quarreling until one night he rapes her. That was bad. He really rapes her and that was meant as a deserved lesson because she defied him.
Really?
Oh and she was a virgin so you can imagine the shock.
The woman then has a complete personality transplant because when he follows her and asks her to forgive him she easily allows him to have sex with her again- still sore and bruised from the rape- and oh it’s wonderful this time so she loves him and he asks her to marry him and she accepts and it’s all right.
WTF?????
No, sorry, ok it’s only a hp but a rape is a rape and a woman cannot so easily dismiss such a traumatic experience in a matter of hours and with the same man who raped her! This is madness! I found disgusting this way to deal with rape, very offensive to all women who are victims of rape, and even after years, they cannot forget the abuse. CM really made a big mistake here. Huge.
So now it’s all love and happiness and the heroine decides to give her shares in the family company to her future husband as a wedding present. Really? How stupid can a woman be?
And she’s now turning into a real doormat, because the hero has suddenly become cold and indifferent and she apologizes. For what? We don’t know. The man behaves horribly, flirting with ow at his engagement party, then tells the heroine he still wants ow, and the heroine tells him she’s sorry.
Madness again.
They get married, and this was really stupid on her part because he was awful during all their engagement, but after their marriage he becomes still more horrible, a real monster, never touching her, going out every night and taunting her with ow.
And she? The selfish bitch who used men like she used toilet paper? She lets him treat her like dirt and whines and cries.
No, please, this is not my narcissistic girl! She should treat him with contempt and try dating om. This behavior was inconsistent. Eventually the hero tells her the truth, that he does not want her any more and he never did, that it was all a revenge plan against her and her father. And I don’t want to spoil what he had against the man. But it was a good reason, even if it was not true. Of course he was deceived and his fil is innocent and has proof of it. There’s a lil drama, the heroine is pregnant, the hero apologizes and everyone is happy in the end. The hero loved her since he first met her but his revenge plan was all he could think about and he was so unhappy when he had to hurt her, so in the end he had already given the shares back to his fil and decided to have a divorce to get the heroine free of his nasty being.
Oh, and he never had ow, it was all a plan to persuade the heroine to leave him. He also says he never wanted another woman after he met her, so it would seem he was celibate? But he dated ow for some time so what’s the truth? It was confusing.
And the heroine? She didn’t really love him. She was a narcissist and needed attention and his main attraction was just that he didn’t give her any so she wanted him more than all om. Typical narcissist trait.
It should be two stars but it was really angsty so since I’m a sucker for angst I’ll enjoyed it in a way.
I have to admit I had many issues with this book. It seemed full of inconsistencies and without a real unity, that is: it’s like the characters have sudden changes of personality and their behavior is very bizarre.
Sometimes it’s almost psychotic because when something very bad or very good happens, they don’t have a behavior and feelings which are congruent to the situation.
Adding to this, they both are unpleasant characters.
And I think the author didn’t really revised her work, and it lacks a proper editing, even if in the end it all comes out.
It’s a good revenge story, and it should be much better if the author hadn’t pictured the heroine as a spoiled and selfish narcissist. A young woman who’s beautiful and rich and at 21 acts like she was 15.
Her selfishness and lack of empathy is really annoying. This is not a heroine who’s hurt easily, I thought.
She meets the hero and wants him, and since he’s indifferent to her she wants him more, until she really stalks him and is bitchy to his dates. This behavior was appalling and the hero of course is annoyed and tries to avoid her going out with ow. After some weeks suddenly he changes his mind and wants to date her, but since she’s selfish and childish, they keep on quarreling until one night he rapes her. That was bad. He really rapes her and that was meant as a deserved lesson because she defied him.
Really?
Oh and she was a virgin so you can imagine the shock.
The woman then has a complete personality transplant because when he follows her and asks her to forgive him she easily allows him to have sex with her again- still sore and bruised from the rape- and oh it’s wonderful this time so she loves him and he asks her to marry him and she accepts and it’s all right.
WTF?????
No, sorry, ok it’s only a hp but a rape is a rape and a woman cannot so easily dismiss such a traumatic experience in a matter of hours and with the same man who raped her! This is madness! I found disgusting this way to deal with rape, very offensive to all women who are victims of rape, and even after years, they cannot forget the abuse. CM really made a big mistake here. Huge.
So now it’s all love and happiness and the heroine decides to give her shares in the family company to her future husband as a wedding present. Really? How stupid can a woman be?
And she’s now turning into a real doormat, because the hero has suddenly become cold and indifferent and she apologizes. For what? We don’t know. The man behaves horribly, flirting with ow at his engagement party, then tells the heroine he still wants ow, and the heroine tells him she’s sorry.
Madness again.
They get married, and this was really stupid on her part because he was awful during all their engagement, but after their marriage he becomes still more horrible, a real monster, never touching her, going out every night and taunting her with ow.
And she? The selfish bitch who used men like she used toilet paper? She lets him treat her like dirt and whines and cries.
No, please, this is not my narcissistic girl! She should treat him with contempt and try dating om. This behavior was inconsistent. Eventually the hero tells her the truth, that he does not want her any more and he never did, that it was all a revenge plan against her and her father. And I don’t want to spoil what he had against the man. But it was a good reason, even if it was not true. Of course he was deceived and his fil is innocent and has proof of it. There’s a lil drama, the heroine is pregnant, the hero apologizes and everyone is happy in the end. The hero loved her since he first met her but his revenge plan was all he could think about and he was so unhappy when he had to hurt her, so in the end he had already given the shares back to his fil and decided to have a divorce to get the heroine free of his nasty being.
Oh, and he never had ow, it was all a plan to persuade the heroine to leave him. He also says he never wanted another woman after he met her, so it would seem he was celibate? But he dated ow for some time so what’s the truth? It was confusing.
And the heroine? She didn’t really love him. She was a narcissist and needed attention and his main attraction was just that he didn’t give her any so she wanted him more than all om. Typical narcissist trait.
It should be two stars but it was really angsty so since I’m a sucker for angst I’ll enjoyed it in a way.
January 18, 2020
He seemed completely immune to her
Rich girl Lara Schofield had never met a man she couldn't instantly captivate, and in fact she'd made a hobby of collecting hearts and breaking them while she remained personally uninvolved.
Until she encountered Jordan Sinclair. He was devastating, everything a woman could ask for. And he was utterly indifferent to Lara.
But what Lara wanted, Lara got, and she was determined to have Jordan Sinclair. Even if it meant playing with the potent fire of his passion, and playing with Jordan was very dangerous indeed...
Rich girl Lara Schofield had never met a man she couldn't instantly captivate, and in fact she'd made a hobby of collecting hearts and breaking them while she remained personally uninvolved.
Until she encountered Jordan Sinclair. He was devastating, everything a woman could ask for. And he was utterly indifferent to Lara.
But what Lara wanted, Lara got, and she was determined to have Jordan Sinclair. Even if it meant playing with the potent fire of his passion, and playing with Jordan was very dangerous indeed...
January 28, 2015
I read this a few years back when I was younger and more impressionable. At the time, I thought it was an "intense" love story, going back and re-reading it, I'm a bit shocked and appalled. There are major spoilers below:
1. The main love story between the two leads feels like mostly arrogant, slightly spoiled adults who have a burning physical passion that... never develops beyond that.
2. Not only does the hero rape the heroine, he then more or less chastises her (saying that he couldn't believe she was a virgin, that she was nothing but a tease... this, you know, after raping her).
3. Everything is driven by revenge because the hero's mother left him and his father (the father was abusive, and so she left for another man, but also to escape). So he's hung onto this grudge against his now-dead mother for twenty years and... that's why he marries the heroine.
I mean, most of the story feels almost nonsensical. Jordan is just so... mean and cruel that there's nothing to ever make you like him, and the last minute apologies feel forced and insincere. I mean, there's alpha hero, and then there's cruelty for no real reason, this felt like that latter. The romance is under-developed and kind of lost under the angsty/angry sex/physical attraction.
1. The main love story between the two leads feels like mostly arrogant, slightly spoiled adults who have a burning physical passion that... never develops beyond that.
2. Not only does the hero rape the heroine, he then more or less chastises her (saying that he couldn't believe she was a virgin, that she was nothing but a tease... this, you know, after raping her).
3. Everything is driven by revenge because the hero's mother left him and his father (the father was abusive, and so she left for another man, but also to escape). So he's hung onto this grudge against his now-dead mother for twenty years and... that's why he marries the heroine.
I mean, most of the story feels almost nonsensical. Jordan is just so... mean and cruel that there's nothing to ever make you like him, and the last minute apologies feel forced and insincere. I mean, there's alpha hero, and then there's cruelty for no real reason, this felt like that latter. The romance is under-developed and kind of lost under the angsty/angry sex/physical attraction.
April 3, 2012
Well, this hero was pretty darn awful (rape included), but if you can tolerate extreme 80s alpha cruelty, you may be ok with this one. The hero only grovels/reforms at the very end. You also have to tolerate some ridiculous statements about the heroine being "a tease" who basically deserved to be raped based on how she led men on by dancing with them at a party. But somehow I was drawn into the sexist angst-fest despite the spoiled heroine and cold-heartedly vengeful hero, so it was an ok read if you know what you're getting into.
October 30, 2024
A bit too hard to get. I didn’t see why the Lara loved him. Most cruel heroes ease up a bit Jordan… can’t explain exactly he was 99% cruel, 1% other, 0% charming.
Wasn’t a bad book but he didn’t charm me. Lara was ok :)
Wasn’t a bad book but he didn’t charm me. Lara was ok :)
August 3, 2010
I read this so long ago and I do recall the heroine being a bit of a brat but I think I liked it. Definitely need to do a re-read. My rating just may change...
August 7, 2016
the book was actually good but rating goes according 2 taste, n dat book was definitely not 2 my taste. jordan was so mean, such an ass i can't find the words 2 describe him. the rape was no forced seduction. it was violent n a show of hatred. i dunno how lara believed it was a normal act of jealousy on his part. she's a very stupid heroine. i did not like the plot though the book is well written n carole is definitely a talented author
November 29, 2012
This novel contained a huge rape scene which resulted in a pregnancy. The hero was really screwed up and he did a lot of it for revenge. I don't know how the hero forgave him for all those nasty things he said and did. It was definitely filled to the top with angst.
February 23, 2014
hero's a jerk. heroine's too soft-hearten.
April 9, 2020
Bello, tenero, anche se inizia un po' lento e con la protagonista troppo bambina e capricciosa... ma poi la svolta, e alla fine il cassetto della memoria che si apre, ricordare i particolari, e sapere di averlo già letto tantissimi anni fa, forse proprio ai tempi della pubblicazione.
November 5, 2019
Ok I really liked this one. Great plot and intense and all. What I didn't like was that heroine was too easy. There was no grovel. It was her who seek him and did effort to be with him till the end.
December 16, 2021
The heroine seemed very immature. Young, rich, beautiful and spoiled. She didn’t have any career interest but a rich daddy . She spent her time partying and stringing men along. She really was a tease. The way she treated poor Nigel was bad but what goes around comes around. She was so sure of her charms that she couldn’t believe someone capable of resisting her. The H presented a challenge. She was naïve but it was hard to be very sympathetic when the H cut her to size. She herself was stupid enough to give him her shares. The H was a jerk but the heroine brung her problems on herself. The spoiled girl falling for a dangerous man. I have some problems to by the HEA. Nevertheless the story was interesting.
August 28, 2021
Was expecting a lot of angst and character growth (especially the blurb promises a spoilt flirtatious rich girl as the heroine). But throughout I couldn't like the heroine and hero. t's weirds me out that the heroine can fall in love with someone who ignores her, despises her, forces her affections, blatantly says he's cheating on her, and nothing gentlemanly at all. There was minimum romance, more of drama and bantering (and not the enjoyable banter). Being generous with my stars because him being mean or indifferent was justified in the end.
December 28, 2017
224-الن تسامحيني ابدا
روايات عبير الجديدة
يا الهي, ياله من رجل ساحر! لارا تريده, مع أنه لا يستطيع أي رجل أن يقاومها.
لكن جوردان سنكلار يعتبرها فتاة طائشة مدللة, وهو يقول لها ذلك دائما.
اذا لماذا هذا التغيير المفاجئ ؟ لقد بدا يدعوها للخروج و...حتى أنه طلبها للزواج ورغم فرحها الكبير إلا إنها لاحضت تهديدا واضحا في تلك النظرات الزرقاء, نظرات الرجل الذي تحبه...
روايات عبير الجديدة
يا الهي, ياله من رجل ساحر! لارا تريده, مع أنه لا يستطيع أي رجل أن يقاومها.
لكن جوردان سنكلار يعتبرها فتاة طائشة مدللة, وهو يقول لها ذلك دائما.
اذا لماذا هذا التغيير المفاجئ ؟ لقد بدا يدعوها للخروج و...حتى أنه طلبها للزواج ورغم فرحها الكبير إلا إنها لاحضت تهديدا واضحا في تلك النظرات الزرقاء, نظرات الرجل الذي تحبه...
May 8, 2017
I had read this book quite some time back . But I do remember the angst and drama and the train wreck relationship. I am giving it a 4 star because i definitely enjoy angsty reads now and then!
May 30, 2019
A very angsty novel that was much better than its rating suggests. The h was a bit annoying in that she was so clingy but I felt that she should have gotten a more intense grovel.
April 13, 2025
3.65***
June 11, 2008
This is one of those books that has problem after problem after problem, then explains it to you within the last fifty pages, and then resolves it in the last ten. I wanted to smack the main character nearly all the time because she annoyed me quite a bit. But, nevertheless, it had an interesting plot. Another easy to read except for the fact that the author uses exclamation marks (!) every other sentence.
Has some sexual items in it (including actual sex that's nearly rape).
Has some sexual items in it (including actual sex that's nearly rape).
September 30, 2015
***WARNING***
Please do not read this book if you are PMSing!!
I loved it from beginning to end, it was a roller coaster of emotions, I had to stop many times just to close my eyes and take a calming breath, I felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest most of the time!
I will recommend it 100%
Please do not read this book if you are PMSing!!
I loved it from beginning to end, it was a roller coaster of emotions, I had to stop many times just to close my eyes and take a calming breath, I felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest most of the time!
I will recommend it 100%
May 24, 2015
OMG! I can't believe how callous this Hero was?! now this is a real revenge story where the hero lets nothing stops him from achieving his will.
I can't believe how the Heroine stays in love with him after all the harsh and contemptuous treatment she suffers from him.
I can't believe how the Heroine stays in love with him after all the harsh and contemptuous treatment she suffers from him.
October 14, 2012
Loved it!!
October 12, 2017
i don't think I liked this book. Jordan hurt Lara so much he had been so cruel .he never showed her that he cares about her or that he have some feelings to her rather than lust and hate😑 he want revenge from the start .if he really loved her from the start he could at last forget about the revenge. whene he found out the truth about his mom he told Lara that he is sorry and he fails in love with her from the start and she forgave him without making him suffer a little like she did .so there is a lot of angst in this book you well feel sorry for Lara she have no pride when it concerns Jordan 😐
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