Customer Reviews

Brittany'S Castle (Harlequin Presents)

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BACK COVER: Perhaps it had been partly Brittany's fault that her marriage to Ryan Masters had broken up two years ago - but it had been Ryan's involvement with Diana Winslow that had finally driven her to leave him. She had gone back to her first love, her career in banking, and in due time there would be a divorce. Except that now Ryan had turned up again and was blackmailing her into at least pretending to be his wife again. But, thrown constantly into intimate contact with him once again, could Brittany fight her real feeling for him?

Brittany is the vice president of the family owned bank. Ryan Masters, her ex-husband who broke her heart, works at a legal clinic helping the "underdog" against the big corporations. They have been separated for two years and now she wants a divorce, he believes to remarry another man and she lets him believe it. He decides that he will give her one if she pretends they have reconciled as he wants a job that has come up and the employer will only hire a married person. He tells her that if she doesn't play a long her will drag the divorce out, play it in the media, and request that the judge not allow her to marry for a year. Mind you she has money, lots of money so she could have put this money to use and tied Ryan up in divorce proceedings and spun any media coverage to show her and her family in a good light so for her to give in to his blackmail was stupid especially for a so called "strong" heroine. Also I don't see how the judge could force her to wait to remarry.

After Brittan suffers a miscarriage, Ryan's secretary informs Brittany that he was having an affair with a client, Diane Winslow. All the evidence points to this too. Ryan hadn't been in court that day when her pregnancy had ended but with Diana Winslow at her house, "For breakfast, he said, but he always winked when he said it. And it didn't take a genius to see how it was when she came to the office." And that morning that she had the miscarriage he had told the secretary not to disturb him for any reason. Of course he couldn't prevent the miscarriage but it would have been nice if he had been there to support her. Ryan had spent a lot of time with Diana Winslow and Diana is vicious and vindictive towards Brittany when she sees her at the boutique years later. There never seems to be an explanation for all of this in the story though. You are left wondering if Ryan was having an affair whether physical or emotional and never get satisfaction one way or the other. At the end when everything is being discussed - Ryan wants to know what his secretary said to Brittany before he confirms or denies anything - is that to get his story straight?

Brittany thinks Ryan is arrogant, rude, hard, and unconcerned with other people's feelings but that sounds more like her. Ryan doesn't seem to think much of her and I wonder why he even fell in love with her to begin with. He acts like she is too materialistic, selfish, spoiled, and self centered. He tells her that she isn't beautiful on the inside, so why did he fall in love with her to begin with?
Ryan had told her, "Someday, Brittany, something is going to hurt you badly enough to make you into a real woman, instead of a plastic doll. I thought perhaps losing the baby would make you see that you're not above ordinary human pain just because you have money - "She wasn't above ordinary human pain she just didn't share it with Ryan and he didn't seem to pick up on it either the louse! She was hurt by the loss of the baby and hearing that her husband was having an affair on the day that she had lost the baby.
Later Ryan says, "It almost killed me when you threw me out of your life. I knew you were hurt because you'd lost the baby. I knew how much it meant to you, and I knew how bitterly angry you were because I wasn't there with you. I thought that was why you didn't want me anymore. I didn't want to believe that you might just have grown to hate me." Umm . . . didn't he previously say something opposite of that? (see above)

This just wasn't a satisfying read. There were too many things left open that weren't closed up or answered fully for me.

Back Cover:

Everything! That's what wealthy banker Brittany Masters appeared to have-an ideal home, stunning good looks and a rewarding career. Yet she also had a troubled past. Her marriage to lawyer Ryan Masters had failed because of his unfaithfulness, and she had miscarried the child she so badly wanted.

All she wanted from him now was a divorce, without publicity. Ryan, however, insited on a mock reconciliation in order to get the political appointment he was seeking.

Brittany reluctantly accepted the arrangement. But she found playing at marriage was difficult when her feelings were so intensely real.