Forced Offer (Paperback)

~ Gloria Gay (Author) "It's so dank-and eerie, " said Belinda, straining her eyes in the gloom of the vast wine cellar, where rows upon rows of dusty wine..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lord Wilbur, Lady Berrington, Lady Lawrence (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Society shuns Belinda Presleigh, believing she schemed to force a marriage offer from the Earl of Berrington. In spite of his resentment, the earl becomes attracted to Belinda, yet not in time to prevent her enemies from plotting against her.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (August 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931391904
• ISBN-13: 978-1931391900
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,008,677 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story, February 14, 2002

By	M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This was my first novel by Gloria Gay and I will look forward to more offerings by her.

This novel was somewhat of a Cinderella story with not a wicked step-mother but rather, the mother from hell. Shunned and mostly forgotten her first 13 years of life in lieu of an older sisters beauty, Belinda came to believe herself to be unattractive and not worthy. But, she had a secret love for the neighboring Earl of Berrington, since she first saw him at the age of 13.

Enter the pushy ambitious mother who tricks both into a compromising position and a forced offer of marriage. With such a start and the Earl thinking Belinda part of the scheme, this was not a match made in heaven. Not only a bad start but Belinda is then left, after a few days of the marriage consummation, with the "jealous" sister-in-law whose pettiness is nothing short of torture. Trying to maintain his fury at having been tricked into the marriage, Richard, Earl of Berrington, must fight his arousal of the mouse he is now married to.

This was a very nice story, that moved swiftly and I enjoyed very much. A very delightful read.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the book!!!!, December 14, 2001

By	C. Gruver "ferretlady" (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This Regency didn't have the normal things a Regency does. Most Regencies that I have read have a mystery to be solved in them. This one did not. This Regency novel dealt more with feelings than anything else. Belinda Presleigh was definitely not a beauty. However, the Earl of Berrington was quite a catch. Poor Belinda gets "tricked" by her mother into "trapping" the Earl of Berrington into marriage. Upon their marriage, they go to the Earl's country estate. The Earl returns immediately to London leaving Poor Belinda with the "wicked" sister-in-law and sister. I did find this a very enjoyable read and would definitely recommend it.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough romance, and poor editing did this one in!, February 1, 2003

By	Cilla (upstate NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book based on other reader reviews, and thought I would really like it. What disappointed me the most was that I was expected to believe that the hero and heroine barely spoke to each other during the daytime(he being angry at being tricked into marriage, she feeling guilty about letting her mother get away with plotting to "force" the marriage), yet they had heart-stopping intimate encounters at night, in the dark! Belinda, the heroine, supposedly fell in love with the hero when she was 13, after accidentally seeing him skinny-dipping? This is the basis for love? No, it was infatuation, and the author never really told us what later made the hero so attractive to the heroine(she was an innocent, so sex didn't seem to be a good enough compelling reason to put herself through all she went throught!) There wasn't much about how he was honorable, or even likable, and she wasn't described as bringing warmth or whatever into his life. She was a timid mouse, and she didn't improve that much over time. The final thing that really ruined this book for me was the terrible editing. There were typos, mis-spellings, and the author used hyphens so much it was sometimes difficult to read the sentences. This book could have been so good, with better editing. The basic plot was a good one, but the author should have been encouraged to elaborate on the main characters, and show the growth of their love. The editor also should have cleaned up the typos and other errors before the book went to print.