My Dearest Enemy (Mass Market Paperback)

by Connie Brockway (Author) "The news of Horatio Algernon Thorne's death came accompanied by a letter from him..." (more)
Key Phrases: dearest enemy, Mill House, Miss Bede, Avery Thorne (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The terms of an irascible uncle's will robs Avery Thorne of the home he loves, and throws him into contact with the new owner, an argumentative suffragette named Lily Bede, whose letters follow Avery on his adventures around the globe. Now Avery is returning home, hoping that Lily will have failed to make the manor house profitable, thereby ensuring that it reverts to him. When they finally meet, she finds him just as arrogant and domineering as in his letters. He finds her just as tart-tongued and provoking. They're each beset by an attraction that leaves them sleepless, restless, and burning with desire. Avery, who considers himself a gentleman above all else, finds the self-control required to resist Lily increasingly hard to come by, while Lily chaffs under a self-imposed restriction against marriage, which she deems "legalized slavery." In showing how these two come to terms with their hopes for the future--and their feelings for each other--Connie Brockway amply displays her well-known wit, charm, and humor. --Ellen Edwards

Review
Upon his uncle's death, Avery Thorne learns that he will not become his cousin Bernard's guardian, nor will he inherit the Mill House, as his uncle had promised. Instead his uncle manages to meddle from beyond the grave, giving Bernard's keeping over to solicitors for five years, and Mill House over to his niece by marriage, Miss Lillian Bede, who is not only illegitimate, but also a dreaded suffragist. Horatio had always considered Avery physically weak and too stubborn, and Lillian foolish, so for five years she has a chance to prove that she can run the estate successfully. If she wins, she'll keep the estate, if she looses, Avery will inherit. Disgusted by the entire ordeal, Avery decides to become an explorer. For five years, letters are the only contact between he and Lillian. Clever, sharp-witted missives that indeed prove the power of the pen. Then, a message from his cousin Bernard arrives, saying that Mill House is in dire straits and that Avery should do the gentlemanly thing and marry Lillian. Avery gleefully books passage back to England where he and Lillian meet face to face. Needless to say, the attraction runs strong between them, but even so, these two dear enemies will have much to conquer on the path to true love. I absolutely adored My Dearest Enemy. The first quarter of the book consisted of a series of sharply funny letters between the hero and heroine interspersed with their respective lives. Once the hero and heroine come face to face, Brockway delivers on her promise of an intensely flirtatious relationship, but she also manages to delve into the more satisfying realms of need, love, and ultimate trust. If you haven't tried Brockway before, then this is the book to start with. A definite keeper! My Dearest Enemy is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and leave you breathless with wonder at the power of love! Brockway writes intelligent romance! Heartwarming and Glorious! Intensely satisfying! My Dearest Enemy has wit, charm, and chemistry mixed with an intelligent love story featuring characters that will leave readers begging for more! Avery and Lillian are a hero and heroine to fall in love with!Phoebe Imel -- Copyright © 080198 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044022375X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440223757
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #332,674 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another winner by Connie!, June 12, 2000

By	pontmarie (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This is such a great book, the luscious kind that just completely sinks you into the story.

Avery Thorne, his sickly, asthmatic past behind him, finds that his uncle Horatio has died and left Mill House, Avery's inheritance, to outspoken woman's rights champion Lily Bede. If Lily can run Mill House for five years and show a profit for it, the place is hers. If not, it goes to Avery.

A disillusioned Avery travels the world for most of those five years, and as Lily must get to him a quarterly allowance, they begin corresponding, most of their letters filled with barely filled insults, which amuse Avery's fellow adventurers and Lily's friends in Mill House.

Avery eventually comes home, only to find that the spinster he expected to find is a beautiful woman, who nonetheless, suffers the shame of not being accepted in society because of her illegitimacy. Their first meeting is filled with tension and eventually they give in to the attraction they feel for each other, but Avery will not have Lily without marriage, and Lily fears her rights as a mother would be gone if she married Avery.

Connie Brockway writes wonderfully lush books that don't go into purple prose territory - her characters (main or secondary) are always fully drawn and interesting, and My Dearest Enemy was a delight to read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty & unputtdownable! I loved it, September 11, 1998

By	DogsDeserveCompassion (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I loved both of these characters but the hero especially. He thinks he's a gentleman (and trust me he's the only one who thinks this <g>) he's blunt, and loud and pretty much knows nothing about being a boring old gentleman. Thank goodness! He's also charmingly imperfect, physically flawed by asthma, amazingly shy despite his loud mouth and sexually inexperienced. An irresistible combination, he was. The letters the two exchange during his travels cracked me up and touched me. A wonderful book that I can't recommend highly enough.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Truly Wonderful, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

I'm slightly disappointed with this book. I loved All Through The Night and As You Desire, rereading them often, and I waited every week in bated breath when this book came out. Then when I read it at first, I groaned. "This isn't as good as the others!" I exclaimed.

But I was wrong. This book is not like the others, because it is different. Each Brockway book tells its own story, and this one tells of a love so quaint and sweet I couldn't help but to love the characters.

Avery Thorne was my kind of guy. Sensitive, intelligent, shy, yet so dependent on, he is such a wonderful character. His letters and Lily Bede's make me chuckle aloud, and when they finally meet face to face, sparks really fly.

This book lacks the sensuality of love scenes typical of Brockway's books, but the tenderness and warmth are intact. The characters are vivid and fully drawn. Lily and Avery are so funny, so happy, so alive together it is hard not to succumb to smile and laug! hter seeing them fall in love.

My only complain is that Lily took too long to realise who she was in love with, but all in all, with beautiful prose, wonderful characters, humour, and love - this book is a keeper.