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mastersal's review against another edition
4.0
A legacy from my Reading Mills and Boons (M&B) Through the Ages project
I finally read this but no prize for me since I still have other books left on the shelf
I finally read this but no prize for me since I still have other books left on the shelf
gamz's review against another edition
4.0
This book read like an old 1940’s black and white movie. The cast of characters;
Sammy - poor innocent girl who is forced to marry our hero Roche to save herself from a worse fate.
Roche - the dark, brooding husband is unkind to his innocent wife. He has more secrets than the intelligence community!
Elvira - the beautiful housekeeper/other woman(?) in the hero’s life.
Solange - the hero’s traumatized daughter from his first marriage.
Liliane- the neighbor who just seems so lovely and friendly.l, especially to Solange.
Marie-Christine - the deceased wife who caused as many problems in death as she did in life. Her specter is still haunting their lives.
El Diable - the ghost of the hero’s ancestor who was a infamous pirate. It is said to still haunt their home to this day.
With such a cast of characters you know that there will be drama, angst and danger. The book was so wonderfully written that I fell into it and devoured it. It was so deliciously over the top with the drama that I could easily visualize the actors I would cast for the main characters. This one was fun for me because I love dark, classic movies.
This one is going on my Read Again list.
Sammy - poor innocent girl who is forced to marry our hero Roche to save herself from a worse fate.
Roche - the dark, brooding husband is unkind to his innocent wife. He has more secrets than the intelligence community!
Elvira - the beautiful housekeeper/other woman(?) in the hero’s life.
Solange - the hero’s traumatized daughter from his first marriage.
Liliane- the neighbor who just seems so lovely and friendly.l, especially to Solange.
Marie-Christine - the deceased wife who caused as many problems in death as she did in life. Her specter is still haunting their lives.
El Diable - the ghost of the hero’s ancestor who was a infamous pirate. It is said to still haunt their home to this day.
With such a cast of characters you know that there will be drama, angst and danger. The book was so wonderfully written that I fell into it and devoured it. It was so deliciously over the top with the drama that I could easily visualize the actors I would cast for the main characters. This one was fun for me because I love dark, classic movies.
This one is going on my Read Again list.
crystalisreading's review against another edition
2.0
This was a cheesy and predictable 80s romance novel with rapey overtones. The story felt a little Jane Eye and a lot Victoria Holt. Perhaps my familiarity with both helped me guess all the twists, but I think it had more to do with heavy heavyhanded foreshadowing and a derivative plot. Samma wasn't a bad character, although she was ridiculously indecisive and impulsive. Roche, despite his rapey-ness and his own constant changing actions vs what he said, was pretty hot, as were their sexy scenes.
The whole book could have been even shorter had either of them ever communicated properly. On the other hand, this book helped me get through an 8 hour plane ride and overall enjoy it, so I guess it served its purpose.
The whole book could have been even shorter had either of them ever communicated properly. On the other hand, this book helped me get through an 8 hour plane ride and overall enjoy it, so I guess it served its purpose.
katiev's review against another edition
3.0
I usually read Sara Craven for the crazies. Her stock-in-trade tends to be forced seduction, but this didn't have that, although there were a few times where you thought maybe it'll happen. That's a good or a bad depending on your HP crazy-o-meter setting and your tolerance for forced seduction in romance. Disclaimer: Forced seduction in romance is (to me) nothing but fantasy it has nothing to do with real life attitudes toward rape.
Anyway, this book was somewhat reminiscent of one of my fav crazies by her [b:The Highest Stakes of All|10033226|The Highest Stakes of All|Sara Craven|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298995828s/10033226.jpg|14928834]. In both Daddy (actually step-father in this case) is a compulsive gambler and willing to use his virginal daughter to pay off a gambling debt.
Holy macaroni! I thought I'd hit the batsh*t HP jackpot, given that this was written in '89 and THSOA was written in 2011 (which still boggles). I thought that since this was written in the height of the bodice-ripper days this should be at least as crazy and likely even MORE crazy than THSOA. Alas, that was not the case. This was far less crazy all around and much less un-PC than the newer book
There is a spanking, which could be a no-go for some - but "hey" I'm a freak like that and it wasn't a beating (which I can't do). Here's the basic plot outline with no real spoilers (only things that come out fairly early in the book):
The British heroine is stuck on a Caribbean island after her mother dies leaving her with her step-dad who runs a fairly lucrative hotel there for tourists and gamblers. Problem is, he's been neglecting the business end of things in favor of his penchant for compulsive gambling which keeps getting worse and worse.
Samantha (or Samma for short) just wants to go back to England and get an education and teach art, but she needs some savings first. Step dad pays her for her work at the hotel with room and board only, so she makes money by drawing those quickie portraits that you always see in a touristy spot.
One day she's doing her usual thing when she notices this really hot "ship hand" checking her out down by the docks where she's setup her easel. She thinks he's a bit too arrogant, so she draws a caricature of him as a pirate, complete with a parrot on his shoulder.
He recognizes himself and decides to play the part of pirate and carry her off on his shoulder to a bar for drinks when she refuses his offer.
Once there, she is pretty mouthy to him for his shenanigans and he turns her over his knee right in front of everyone and spanks her. He's not trying to hurt her, mostly just trying to humiliate her in kind for her caricature and display his awesome control freak HP alphaness. She runs off furious and embarrassed and he just laughs, which makes her MORE furious.
Later he turns up at her step-dad's hotel dressed in very expensive clothes and she realizes that he is not a ship hand, but an obscenely rich descendent of a French pirate (nicknamed something like 'the Devil') who had established his own empire on another island back in the pirating days. His descendants still rule the roost there (albeit not as pirates) and the hero, Roche, is the current top dog.
Stupid step-dad loses all (hotel included) to the hero. His plan is to get a loan from a frequent gambling buddy in exchange for Samma being "friendly" with him. She's not too keen on that since he's a middle aged, fat lecher. So, she goes to the H for help deciding if she had to sell herself it may as well be to someone hot (as the title indicates she's 'between the devil and the deep blue'). She decides on this course of action because the hero had already offered to pay her for a "year of her life". She thinks she'll endure the year, get the money, then go back to England and forget it all happened.
Instead, the year he proposes is really a MOC where she takes care of his "daughter" from his previous marriage (he's a widower).
The hero, Roche, messes with Samma's head quite a bit so she's always confused as to his intentions. Plus there are mysteries and intrigues on the island, including a OW that's not and one that would like to be.
Of course we have the usual misunderstanding between H and h regarding their feelings for one another. Roche is too proud to come out and admit that he never wanted a MOC and was smitten from the start and used that as an excuse to get her in his clutches. Samma is also confused by his hot/cold behavior and the does he/doesn't he have a mistress question. Throw in a homicidal wannabe-OW and the misunderstanding comes to a head, then HEA.
Anyway, this book was somewhat reminiscent of one of my fav crazies by her [b:The Highest Stakes of All|10033226|The Highest Stakes of All|Sara Craven|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298995828s/10033226.jpg|14928834]. In both Daddy (actually step-father in this case) is a compulsive gambler and willing to use his virginal daughter to pay off a gambling debt.
Holy macaroni! I thought I'd hit the batsh*t HP jackpot, given that this was written in '89 and THSOA was written in 2011 (which still boggles). I thought that since this was written in the height of the bodice-ripper days this should be at least as crazy and likely even MORE crazy than THSOA. Alas, that was not the case. This was far less crazy all around and much less un-PC than the newer book
There is a spanking, which could be a no-go for some - but "hey" I'm a freak like that and it wasn't a beating (which I can't do). Here's the basic plot outline with no real spoilers (only things that come out fairly early in the book):
The British heroine is stuck on a Caribbean island after her mother dies leaving her with her step-dad who runs a fairly lucrative hotel there for tourists and gamblers. Problem is, he's been neglecting the business end of things in favor of his penchant for compulsive gambling which keeps getting worse and worse.
Samantha (or Samma for short) just wants to go back to England and get an education and teach art, but she needs some savings first. Step dad pays her for her work at the hotel with room and board only, so she makes money by drawing those quickie portraits that you always see in a touristy spot.
One day she's doing her usual thing when she notices this really hot "ship hand" checking her out down by the docks where she's setup her easel. She thinks he's a bit too arrogant, so she draws a caricature of him as a pirate, complete with a parrot on his shoulder.
He recognizes himself and decides to play the part of pirate and carry her off on his shoulder to a bar for drinks when she refuses his offer.
Once there, she is pretty mouthy to him for his shenanigans and he turns her over his knee right in front of everyone and spanks her. He's not trying to hurt her, mostly just trying to humiliate her in kind for her caricature and display his awesome control freak HP alphaness. She runs off furious and embarrassed and he just laughs, which makes her MORE furious.
Later he turns up at her step-dad's hotel dressed in very expensive clothes and she realizes that he is not a ship hand, but an obscenely rich descendent of a French pirate (nicknamed something like 'the Devil') who had established his own empire on another island back in the pirating days. His descendants still rule the roost there (albeit not as pirates) and the hero, Roche, is the current top dog.
Stupid step-dad loses all (hotel included) to the hero. His plan is to get a loan from a frequent gambling buddy in exchange for Samma being "friendly" with him. She's not too keen on that since he's a middle aged, fat lecher. So, she goes to the H for help deciding if she had to sell herself it may as well be to someone hot (as the title indicates she's 'between the devil and the deep blue'). She decides on this course of action because the hero had already offered to pay her for a "year of her life". She thinks she'll endure the year, get the money, then go back to England and forget it all happened.
Instead, the year he proposes is really a MOC where she takes care of his "daughter" from his previous marriage (he's a widower).
The hero, Roche, messes with Samma's head quite a bit so she's always confused as to his intentions. Plus there are mysteries and intrigues on the island, including a OW that's not and one that would like to be.
Of course we have the usual misunderstanding between H and h regarding their feelings for one another. Roche is too proud to come out and admit that he never wanted a MOC and was smitten from the start and used that as an excuse to get her in his clutches. Samma is also confused by his hot/cold behavior and the does he/doesn't he have a mistress question. Throw in a homicidal wannabe-OW and the misunderstanding comes to a head, then HEA.