Red Roses Mean Love [Mass Market Paperback]

Jacquie D'Alessandro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 1999

Yellow for friendship.
Pink for passion. But . . .
Red Roses Mean Love.

She dreamed of roses....

Orphaned and abandoned by her fiancé, Hayley Albright is determined to care for her younger siblings even if it means having to give up her own dreams. She doesn't expect to ever find love or get married . . . until one moonlit night when she saves the life of a mysterious stranger.

. . . And he wants only to make her dreams come true....

Lord Stephen Barrett woke up gazing at the face of an angel. He was alive. And safe, for now, from the killer stalking his every move. Allowing Hayley to believe he is just a tutor of modest means, Stephen stays on for reasons of his own, never anticipating the passions Hayley would stir in his cold, wary heart. Her innocence is pure seduction. Her touch is sweet temptation. And suddenly the man who has everything is willing to risk it all--for a woman who has nothing to give . . . but all her heart. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: England, 1820
Sensuality: 7

At 25, Hayley Albright--the oldest of her orphaned family--firmly decides that she will not marry. Instead, she devotes herself to her household of boisterous siblings and eccentric servants, giving up her dreams of love and marriage until one moonlit night, when she comes upon a wounded stranger in the woods. Determined to save him, Hayley takes him home and nurses him back to health.

Lord Stephen Barrett awakens in an unfamiliar bedchamber to find he's been shot in what appears to be the second attempt on his life. Deciding that the Albright home is a safe place to recuperate while he works out a plan to catch his assailant, he conceals his true identity by telling his rescuer that he is a tutor en route to his next assignment. What Stephen won't admit, even to himself, is that Hayley's warmth of spirit, beautiful face, aquamarine eyes, and lushly curved six-foot-tall body is a powerful inducement for him to remain in Kent. Before long, however, Stephen can't deny that Hayley stirs a fierce passion in him while the rambunctious children and devoted servants threaten to melt the icy coldness of his heart. But he must leave the Albright home to identify and capture his would-be assassin, for to remain would place the family in jeopardy. Will Hayley forgive Stephen for deserting her--if only for a little while--and can Stephen come to terms with the depth of his feelings for the beautiful spinster?

In her debut novel, D'Alessandro pairs a moody, dark hero with a sunny, free-spirited heroine while demonstrating a marked talent for gathering a cast of lively secondary characters. The hero is endearingly obtuse about recognizing love and the heroine admirable in her determination not to pine for a man who refuses to realize their rare good fortune. --Lois Faye Dyer

About the Author

Jacquie D'Alessandro grew up on Long Island and fell in love with romance at an early age. She dreamed of being swept away by a dashing rogue riding a spirited stallion. When her hero finally showed up, he was dressed in jeans and driving a Volkswagen, but she recognized him anyway. They married after they both graduated from Hofstra University, and are now living their happily-ever-after in Atlanta, Georgia, along with their very bright and active eight-year-old son, who is a dashing rogue in the making. Red Roses Mean Love is Jacquie's first book. She is currently working on her next historical romance for Dell.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440235537
• ISBN-13: 978-0440235538
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved those tea parties, November 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Roses Mean Love (Mass Market Paperback)

This book had everything....suspense....romance... I especially liked the tea parties...could picture grown men sitting in tiny chairs...drinking tea from miniscule cups...loved the pets also...loved the misplaced sailors filling in as housemen...the hero was great.,the heroine lovely...will save this book forever...and read it again ...

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone MUST read this one!, July 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Red Roses Mean Love (Mass Market Paperback)

Someone had hired thugs to assassinate Lord Stephen Barrett. The second attempt almost succeeded. Hayley Albright finds Stephen close to dead in the woods and takes him to her home to recover. Stephen pretends to be a tutor. With the help of his brother-in-law, Stephen decides to lay low at the Albright house for awhile and recover in hopes the culprit can be found.

Hayley's parents were years dead. Her father had died without leaving the family with much funds. Hayley, being the oldest, took control. She had to take care of five siblings and a staff. As Stephen recovered, Hayley had unknowingly shown him all that was missing in his life. Hayley's love of her family showed in everything she did. The entire family treated Stephen as one of them, instead of as a stranger. But soon, Stephen would have to return to his own world and face a killer. Hayley had her own secret: how she paid the bills.

***Everyone simply HAS to read this one! I chuckled all the way through it! I laughed out loud several times and twice had to stop to wipe the tears out of my eyes from laughing so hard! This is Jacquie D'Alessandro's debut novel. Dell Publishing was wise enough to quickly snatch up the rights to this author's second novel. With this one book, she has hit my tiny list of authors which I automatically purchase without reading the back first. If it has the name Jacquie D'Alessandro on it, it's guaranteed to please!***

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Drawer Romance!, March 1, 2000

By 

J Payne - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Roses Mean Love (Mass Market Paperback)

Red Roses Mean Love delivers what every romance reader wants: a spirited love story filled with characters so rich, they live beyond the final page. Jacquie d'Alessandro, in this debut novel, has bested many romance veterans with her witty characters, vivid descriptions, and laugh-out-loud scenes. Like real women,Hayley is passionate about more than just a man. She adores her family, her vocation, even the scraggly mongrels desparately in need of a bath. Stephen Barrett doesn't stand a chance--and he's all the better for it! Home life is hilarious and the love scenes are sensual and honest. A delightful read that offers the very best of romantic fiction. I can't wait for the next book!