The Dark Side of Desire by Michelle Reid (HP 1533)
Back Cover:
She could run...but she couldn't hide
No longer the shattered teenager who had left Thornley vowing never to return, Rebecca Shaw had come to terms with the legacy of Jay Lorence's betrayal and had built a new life on her terms. But her mother needed her now - and nothing could keep Rebecca from going home.
Ten years melted in Jay's embrace; his kiss reopened old wounds and ignited forgotten temptations. Every instinct warned her to run before her hard-worked-for peace and stability came crashing down.
Rebecca had a new life - one she had no intention of letting Jay invade. But keeping a man like Jay at arm's length was next to impossible - especially when it wasn't what she really wanted to do.
Favourite Scene:
'I love you,' he said again flatly. 'God knows how I'm going to deal with it if you can't bring yourself to love me again. But there it is; I love you,' and his mouth covered hers, warm and trembling on the power of his own pained emotion.
My Review:
The H/h grew up together and he taught her lots of things and was just always around. When she was 15, he kissed her because she was starting to date other guys. When she was 16 and he was 23, he came home and they declared their love and started sleeping together. They really were childhood sweathearts, but they kept it secret because he would get publicly lynched for seeing her. I think the hero should have waited a year or two, they shouldn't have immediately jumped into sex, their relationship would have been more acceptable that way. They wouldn't have had the stress of secrecy placed on them, they wouldn't have been as vulnerable to lies that a woman told to tear them apart.
This nasty woman, Olivia, tried to come between the H/h because she wanted the H for herself. I'm glad that the hero never dated her during the 10 years she was trying to get her paws on him! Too often the nasty woman sinks her teeth into the hero and you wonder how the hero could ever have been attracted to such a piece of work.
When the heroine left town, she left because she was pregnant. The hero doesn't find out about the child until she comes home when her mother is sick. I liked that the hero told her he loved her first, that he was the one to make himself vulnerable. The heroine hadn't been with anyone else since the hero, but I'm glad that she didn't actually tell the hero that straight out, because too often those scenes are just an ego-stroke for the hero: it makes the hero feel good to know that his heroine stayed his only, but the fact that the heroine couldn't move on and have a normal full life is just sad and speaks of pain on her part! The fact that the hero was miserable for the ten years without her was good because it meant that both of them were affected by the loss of their relationship. I didn't understand why the hero let himself believe that the heroine aborted the baby she was carrying, because from what he said he knew all along she'd never harm a child.
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars, pretty good story, a strong love and passion, but I didn't like the jailbait and a 10 year separation is painful to read about (such a waste).
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