separation

Back Cover:

Twelve months ago their marriage was perfect...Then Billionaire Tyler Benedict returns home to find his bed empty and Lianne, his wife, gone! Now Tyler will do anything to get his bride back! Tyler hires Lianne to be his personal lawyer-it's a deal she can't refuse. But this time Lianne is wise to Tyler's ways, he's after more than just a business arrangement; he wants her back where he feels she belongs...at his bidding!  

My Review:

This was refreshing!  The hero loved his wife, and told her that clearly from the beginning.  When lies were told about him being involved with another woman, the hero didn't get stuffed up on pride and refuse to explain himself, he simply told her the truth: it's a lie, and wanted her to trust him.  When she didn't trust him, he didn't give up on her like other heroes have, instead he set a very determined plan into action, as soon as he physically could (three months went by before he could get away to chase after her), to get her back. 

Back Cover:

Her dream husband.

Ever since their passionate encounter, Somer's dreams had been filled with the lean, tanned body of Chase Lorimer. She hadn't been able to look at another man - even though she'd thought she'd never see Chase again.

Now, Chase was back, and this time he wanted marriage - but on his terms. Somer had two choices: she could consent to be a convenient wife, or spend the rest of her life dreaming about him. Although the situation wasn't ideal, she knew she had to take a chance on the real thing...  

My Review:

Somer is a rich man's daughter, and at 18 she got engaged to Andrew, who only wanted to marry her for her money.  Somer walked in on Andrew having sex with another woman, and she felt rejected and inadequate (because of pride).  She goes off and tries to seduce the powerfully sexy photographer, Chase, who she's seen around the hotel. 

Chase was intrigued by her at first sight, noticing her air of innocence: one of the most sensual scenes was at the beginning when he first saw her, he followed her off the elevator, came up behind her, and put his hands upon her neck to caress her ears and murmur "just checking to see if you're as wet behind the ears as you look".

Why do I read books where there is a separation and thus a high chance of the hero having sex with other women and hurting his heroine?  I think sometimes I read the book description and think "ok, the separation was only a year or two, the author could definately swing it so that the hero abstained". 

In this case, the hero's pregnant wife walked out on the marriage believing a woman who claimed the hero cheated with her.  He hadn't, the woman lied, but the heroine didn't know... and the hero was too proud to fight to keep his wife, after she had disappointed him by not trusting him.  He eventually moved on to other women, their divorce was in progress.  Eventually the heroine found out he hadn't slept with the woman who made the claim, and she wanted the hero back.  The moment the heroine realized that the hero had had sex with other women for REAL after their separation, it was as if she was just shot out of her dream world and landed on her ass in reality.  It was so heart-breaking.  It was also heart-breaking to see the hero's reaction to having to confirm to her that there had been other women, he knew it would hurt her now, and he didn't want to hurt her.  This was just crushing. 

Back Cover:

Charlotte had married Matthew Derby eleven years ago, to give her baby a father —after Logan Kennedy had deserted her. Now Matthew was dead, and Charlotte had met Logan again and realised that the past was by no means dead. And that Logan attracted her as much as ever... 

This book is a bit unusual for a HP in that the first half of the book is the past, while the second half of the book is the present (usually the past is shown through brief flashbacks or a prologue or the first chapter).  This was a bit confusing to me because I was reading the book and just waiting for the leap into the future, because the back cover made me expect the story to be about the reunion, not the past. 

The hero used the heroine for revenge back when she was 18, then he found out he had no right to revenge.  They had one rough emotional night of sex, and then she ran afterwards.  She went to a male friend's place to hide, and the hero found her there in a bed and assumed she'd leapt into the other guy's bed.  Six years later, we see the heroine is raising the hero's daughter, and the hero has moved to her town (why the sudden move? The writer could have made the hero deliberately seek the heroine out, instead of making it a coincidence).  The heroine needs to decide if she should tell the hero that her child is actually his as well. 

Back Cover:

The Vengeful Groom

For generations, couples have been coming to Eternity, Massachusetts, to exchange wedding vows. Legend has it that those married in Eternity's chapel are destined for a lifetime of happiness. And the townsfolk are more than willing to help keep the legend intact. .

ETERNITY...where dreams can come true.

It's been ten years since Tina's testimony condemned Giovanni to prison, ten years since the auto accident that killed her sister... ten years since she'd been betrayed.

But the years have made Gio stronger and harder. Amid hushed whispers and stares, he's dared to come back to Eternity, to regain the respect of his family. His plan calls for a bride, and Tina is about to learn just how ruthless and disturbingly sensual Gio's brand of vengeance can be.  

They were engaged 5 years ago, but the heroine dumped him days before the wedding via a letter.  She left him because her grandmother who raised her had cancer and needed her care.  The hero had been offered a very important medical internship out of the country: if she had told the hero she needed to stay at home with her grandmother, the hero would have stayed with her and given up the internship, and she wanted him to have the career he wanted.  She was trying to be selfless, but her abandoning him made the hero very bitter, he never married after his relationship with her. 

He was her first lover.  Then her best friend claimed he got her pregnant.  The heroine fled town at the news her lover had cheated on her and got someone else pregnant.  She accepted money from his father as a bribe to leave, but she had planned to leave anyway, the money was no incentive!  It just made it easier for her to start again.  Many many years later they meet again.  She needs a job / money because she made a foolish business deal with her then-lover/partner and is in debt. 

They come together with good passion and a destined sense of love for each other.  It's a little convenient that we are left to assume now that the heroine hooks up with the hero, her financial problems will magically disappear.  But it was a feel good read. 

Rating: 3/5 stars, a little convenient, I was sad at the wasted years because of the misunderstanding/lies.

Gabrielle is a model and she's estranged from her husband Max.  Because of a misunderstanding, they never really started their marriage for real.  Now they are coming back together to pretend they are a happy married couple for the sake of her parents who are visiting. This stirs things up again. 

Rating: 3/5 stars, I disliked the separation plot. 

Warm story with a deep history between the hero and heroine.  An almost destined love, they were the only ones for each other, no one else compared.  Very believable feelings, it was believable that they kept single all those ten years apart.  The heroine ten years ago lied and told her grandfather she'd been sleeping with the hero, because she wanted to keep the hero from marrying someone else (she was jealous).  The hero got angry with her for lying and told her to tell the truth, in anger he said he hoped he'd never see her again.  She left town for ten years not coming back, she was feeling such guilt over destroying his engagement with her lies.  She comes back because her small cousins (being raised by the hero) are upset the hero got engaged to a bitchy woman who wants to send them to boarding school.  With Maggie back in the house, things come to a head! 

Rating: 4/5 stars, a little dated, and it was sad that they spent so many years separated, with her punishing herself, but it was a really emotional read!