Customer Reviews

For the Love of Ivy (Harlequin Superromance No. 540)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not usually inclined to write reviews about romances; I read so many that they often blend together. But this book is really singularly bad and I felt it worth the while to save other buyers a few dollars and some time.

The female protagonist, Arielle -- I'm not going to call her a heroine because I've seen dish towels with more backbone an character -- had a weekend fling with a guy in Aspen. Turns out he owned the resort and was there under an assumed name, yadda yadda, it's a book called "One Night, Two Babies".

Anyway. She proceeds to then allow him to basically order her around for a hundred pages. Eat this. Wear that. We're getting married. I'm going to the doctor with you. No, I don't care if you disagree.

Spirited argument? Restraining order? Oh no. Arielle submits meekly, with a bit of mild grumbling.

Personally I would've socked this guy in the nose, but apparently she likes that sort of treatment.

Read only if you enjoy very passive heroines and a lot of 'tell' not 'show'.

I read DeNosky's first book in this series (Billionaire's Contract Engagement) and almost didn't read this one based on the review. However, being a bit Type-A, I had to complete the series by reading this book. And contrary to the other reviewer (who is completely entitled to their opinion) it wasn't bad. It was a sweet love story about overcoming obstacles to love and finding the "and they lived happily ever after."

This book had a lot going for it. I liked the set-up, I liked the hero, and I thought this was fairly well-written. The major sticking point was the heroine. She was a soppy mess and a complete and utter pushover for the men in her life. I understand trying to give your heroine a sense of vulnerability, but I think they went to far with Arielle. She seemed to have no self-confidence whatsoever, and the book gave that dangerous impression that all she really needed to be happy was a man to take care of her, whether she wanted it or not. That can be a staple of romance novels, and when it's done right it's wonderful to see couples who care for one another act that way, but this book just took it too far.

I respected the hero for trying to do whatever it took to take care of the mother of his children. I could not respect a heroine who was a wet sop who constantly lied to herself, and rolled over for every man in her life. Her one attempt to take a stand did not even begin to atone for the many, many times throughout the book when she let herself be bullied. I couldn't root for her.

I love the storyline of this book. It has view of when you are the only sister with two older brothers and you have this slight problem. When you were young it was easy to run hide bihind them. But she took the rough rode and she went ahead and made a decision that took a lot of guts.