Anne HampsonBesprekingen

This is the first Mills & Boon book that I have read and although dated in places (this book published in 1974), I was pleasantly surprised by the descriptive nature of the writing. Essentially a hate to love story I really enjoyed it

Accompanying Nicole to Australia was her foster mother's idea. Personally, Sally thought the whole idea was crazy!

"How can you fall in love by correspondence?" she asked. Yet Ray Landers, Nicole's long-time pen pal had asked her to marry him.

I've seriously got to hunt down a book whose back blurb starts out "Women need a little rough treatment!"

Wow, this had the potential to be great but wow is all I can say. At the end of the book in the final showdown scene the hero shakes the heroine until he himself is breathless.. But okay they still haven't made up so maybe there is some slight justification.

Then there is a weird spot after she shouts at him that she doesn't love him and he doesn't love her. The story picks up with : "It was less than half an hour later that Karen and Clint were standing close together on the sunlit deck of the Fair Mermaid, the last misunderstandings having been straightened out."

WTF? Was the author just too lazy to write that scene?

And then the coup de grace, she mentions 'when we're married ' and he says 'did I mention marriage?' And she teases 'well nowadays there's women's lib, so will you marry me?

And then this happened, I s*** you not.

"Again she was stopped, this time by a slap that was meant to hurt—and it did. You, my girl, can forget Women’s Lib! I’m the master and I’m also old-fashioned enough to feel it’s the man’s prerogative to do the proposing.’ He paused a moment, his eyes challengingly severe. ‘If you feel you can’t live with my cruelty then you only have only to refuse."

Seriously just WOW.

Review to come

These are going to be crazy old skool HP stars. It was really wacky. The hero was almost unredeemable. He had despised the heroine as a young girl because she had a port wine birthmark on her face. But he had danced with her and defended her against her stepfather. So some good some bad. I felt that the author didn't quite redeem him at the end though. Yes he chased her madly but he didn't really respect her because part of that chasing was lying to her just to get her into bed. The turn around at the end was pretty abrupt and unbelievable and all those nice explanations were shorted. The heroine was the same in that she was kind of two faced. She had fun elements where she led him on and slammed her stepsister but she also loved this ass for years even when she was married to a much nicer man.

So I guess I gotta say read at your own peril. ;-)

One of two gypsy themed books that I am rereading. I really enjoyed this one better than [b:The Bartered Bride|13481412|The Bartered Bride|Margaret Rome|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1329016540s/13481412.jpg|14112435]. That one had a lot of dated political stuff in it. This one concentrated firmly on the main couple.

Fair Warning: This one is totally non PC. There is kidnapping, rape, spanking and probably some Stockholm syndrome. The heroine spouts stereotypical racial slurs over and over. She did have some slight justification the first time but should have followed the 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all' rule early and often. But we are looking back on things from 30 years on and PCness does change and grow and that's usually a good thing. Still I think this might have been the author's views a bit since the hero never let her out to mingle with the gypsies and seemed to be ashamed of them himself.

So I'm giving this one 4 stars for the OTT old skool crazy of it all. This guy really kidnapped her and raped her although he did marry her first. The rape scenes, and there are more than one, are all pretty much closed door. He was one of those who was all 'why do you say things that you know will force me to lose my temper and assault you?' I think in reality Anne Hampson was writing about a guy who was probably into BDSM in a world where that sort of thing was not accepted in main stream fiction.

So super crazy for all you lovers of vintage WTFery.

Another for the quest to read the first 100 HPs. This one is numbered 37. So the heroine is sort of a loon and loves a man who loves her sister and who she has overheard denigrating herself. Oh well so of course when the sister dumps him after an accident which she caused which results in his blindness, the heroine swoops in and pretends to be her sister in order to marry him. She acted more like a teenager than a woman in her 20s buy HP heroines often do.

If you're a fan of the crazy old school angst you should like this one. It was fun. I would have given it a higher score if the ending had been just a tiny bit more fulfilling.

Continuing on my quest to read the first 100 HPs. This is #34. Decent enough book. Its biggest problem was it was a little overwrought. The heroine kept coming up with "I'll show him ideas!" that never panned out of course. A lot happened here also and some of it was not really fleshed out enough to suit me. This was actually a pretty interesting story where the hero marries the heroine to keep her gold digging hands off his brother. He's a total dick for convincing this poor girl he loves her and then snubbing her on their wedding night. Sometimes I felt her anguish while it was written, didn't ring true enough. I don't like characters to roll around in their own heads too much but for the first time I actually think a bit more self obsessing might have done the trick. And the scene at the end where he gets so upset about her believing he had been cheating but refused to confront her about it seemed odd. I mean if she was so unsecure in her marriage, which he caused with his previously mentioned assholery on their wedding night and actions after that, why wouldn't she be scared to confront him? I mean she loved him and clearly didn't want to precipitate anything that might cause their marriage to break up. I guess it was different but it just seemed odd. Still all in all a pretty solid one especially considering its age. I think it would be fun to see this story rewritten by a good modern author.

So Harlequin Presents Number 2. Maybe it would be fun to collect and read the first 100.

This book was slow and sweet. HPs had not really settled into the groove that they eventually did with the tiaras and Italian villas etc. This was a guardian and ward romance and we did get to see them interact a few times before the main action of the story starts and I always enjoy that. You never got the feeling that he had loved her all along just that he fell in love with her when she came out to live with him when she was 17 and he was 29 or 30. This is a guy who if he had been written now would be a total alpha ass if not a BDSM dom. He was veyry much in charge and it was his way or the highway and she spent a lot of time trying never to make him angry. considering he had spanked her in front of a bunch of people for kicking him when she was 13 and he was 25. The obligatory breakup/misunderstanding at the end was oddly handled, sort of just shoe horned in. And if you care, there's an awful lot about the Australian outback.

I might actually be giving this one an extra star because I love the cover. It was very vintage in feel with a whole lotta telling rather than showing. There were not quite enough scenes with both the hero and the heroine. It was also one of those books where you pretty much knew what was going to happen so some of the fun in reading it was dimmed. I did appreciate that the heroine learned not to be so submissive. I never really felt like the hero explained how he was over the old fiance adequately enough. Most of that was related by the author in the wrap up instead of shown in an actual scene. Consequently, I'm not sure I really believed he was over her. I needed more out and out swearing that he loved Roxanne much more than he had ever loved Marta. Oddly enough, how he felt about Marta was not adequately explained either. Also all the forceful married sex scenes were off stage so you really couldn't get worked up over them one way or another. I might like to see this rewritten with a modern take...

Another one for my quest to red the first 100 HPs. This one is numbered 28. It was a bit purple prosy but on the whole was pretty well done. I really enjoyed it right up until the very last. You could see all along that the hero was crazy for her. She was written pretty well as an 18 year old who was pretty clueless. The end failed it though The heroine's mother told the heroine that the hero was in love with her and all about his plot to get her to marry him etc. That's a cop out on it's own but it was made worse by the fact that even that happened off screen. So the heroine basically comes to the hero and says 'so your mother told me you're crazy about me. Very lame. The rest was a 5 star oldie read. That bit was 1 or 2 stars so averaged out to 3 .

3 stars for the crazy of it all. I'm giving him the No. 1 Asshat of all time award. Not only was he going to knock up a woman innocent of all wrong doing but then he planned to go off and leave her to raise his baby without any help. It's really no wonder she fell in love with him. ;-) He didn't do nearly enough repenting and groveling at the end.

And then his line about not wanting any reward for saving her from rape but that he only did what any decent man would do. That was a WTF moment for me. 'Cuz wasn't the whole book an illustration of just how indecent he was?

Still best blackmail threat EVER. If you don't get on your hands and knees and beg me to f*** you and knock you up, I will make sure to beat your 19 year old brother severely enough that he will never father another child if he even manages to walk away.

What a prince. Sigh...

Pretty good old HP with a revenge plot. This time the heroine is getting revenge on the hero. Of course it backfires and the hero, when he discovers what he thinks is going on, is pretty domineering and mean to her.

Kept my attention and kept me turning pages. There were places where you could really tell this was an oldie. For example once the hero says, Enough it is that I have got you here. Seriously??? Maybe Yoda talks like that but I'd think that even in 1976 hot Greek guys didn't.

Still a pretty fun ride.

Edited to add that this is one of my reads on my quest to read the first 100 numbered HPs. This one is numbered 44.

This one has that hazy feel that a lot of Anne Hampson’s books have. But I enjoyed it. Maybe because you could tell what the hero was thinking. He wasn’t really asshatty. This book was written in 1971 so the attitudes were typical for the times. And seriously she did appear to be cheating on her “husband “. But other than one pass at her he pretty much leaves her alone except professionally. The biggest thing I have against it is that the author glossed over the I love yous and explanations. Explanations happened off page by another character and the I love you bit was basically he drives up to her then the scene shifts to they are in each other’s arms and saying when did you first love me. Dang Ms. Hampton, those were both scenes I would have liked to have actually read. Lots of bonus Greek history too.

Working my way through the first 100 HPs. This is the 35th one I’ve read. It’s numbered 63 and was published in 1974. Decent story. Took awhile to get going but it picked up once they got into the jungle. Believable relationship building. This was kind of a anti trope in that the heroine’s father had stolen from his boss when he lost at gambling and was she was blackmailed into marrying said boss in order for her father to avoid jail. But wait you say. “We’ve read that story a million times!” Well yes but he was a bouncer and evidently spent the first 6 months of the marriage raping her continually and then he ran off with another woman to Borneo. The heroine has come to Sarawak to find out if he’s dead or alive because she wants to remarry. Her fiancé is the prerequisite milksop of course. The hero is the man who takes her into the jungle to search for the rotter of a husband. Weirdly the scene where you find out about what happened to the husband is told as a memory. Like “two weeks ago they he’d found out...” maybe the author could have shown us that scene instead of so much description of the flora and fauna. Older books are sometimes strangely written.

I've always loved this book. The heroine discovers she has an brain tumor and is going to die. She goes on a cruise and has an affair with a man who she assumes is just interested in sex and won't be hurt when she dies. It is a very poignant story if you like tear jerkers which I do. An oldy but a goody.

Another one for my quest to read the first 100 HPs. This one is numbered 31 and was first published in 1973.

This was fun because I actually spent a week in Sinatra when I was a foreign exchange student in Portugal long ago. So I could sort of visualize the scenery.

The book was okay. It was pretty slow and the hero and heroine spent little time together.

The romance was pretty lame. The hero was a bit beta.

Not the worst I’ve read on this quest but not the best either.

Another one for my quest to read the first 100 HPs. This one is numbered 22 and was first printed in 1970. It was not bad as these oldies go. Oddly it had POV from the hero in a time when most HPs did not. The hero and heroine meet on the first page and spend quite a bit of time together. The heroine was 17 and acted very young and frankly doormat ish. There was a silly misunderstanding caused by the hero thinking he was being clear but any idiot could tell him he wasn’t. But the plot hung on this point so it was necessary. Anyway it was pretty readable and had some surprises. For example an OW who wasn’t. D

Decent read only about 58 to go.

Wendy is given devastating news about her health so she sells her home and everything in it and takes a three month ocean cruise. She stays away from making permanent friendships to avoid hurting the other person. However, she falls for Garth and because of his attitude she figures he is only flirting with her and won't be hurt no matter how their relationship ends. But what if she's wrong?

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of one of my favorite old movies, 'Til We Meet Again." Garth is very aloof and contemptuous but slowly he thaws towards Wendy. When his reason is revealed their relationship changes. I liked that Wendy tried to keep Garth from guessing what was wrong with her. I loved how he falls hard and how, at the end, they both let down their guards and let the other in. This has a HEA and that's how I like my romance.

Writing was too formal, was rather dull in most spots with little plot changes to keep it intriguing, the relationship was rushed and not believable, and there really wasn't any passion till the last two pages.

Wendy is told by her doctor that she has a brain tumor and only a few months to live. Not looking forward to going to a nursing home Wendy decides to take a three month long world cruise. There she meets an assortment of people she becomes friends with and the mysterious hero. I liked the way the heroine tried to find enjoyment and fun in her last days (even though she was scared) instead of dwelling on what was to come. I also enjoyed the many different exotic locations they visited on the cruise. This was a really good older Harlequin Presesnts (from 1977).

so glad I finally read this

Treat yourself to one free romance eBook every day now through Feb. 14. Get swept away in the stories from four bestselling romance authors: Anne Hampson, Sharon Sala, M.C. Beaton and Barbara Taylor Bradford. Be sure to visit our calendar to look ahead to what eBooks will be free in the coming days of our...
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In celebration of the season of love, we are treating readers to one free romance eBook every day from Feb. 1-14. Get swept away in the stories from four bestselling romance authors: Anne Hampson, Sharon Sala, M.C. Beaton and Barbara Taylor Bradford. Visit our calendar to look ahead to what eBooks will be free in...
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