The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James
A cruel twist of fate changed Simon Blackwell’s life forever. A man of intense passions, he resolved to deny his emotions and desires forever—taking refuge in the wilds of the moorlands and shutting himself off from the world. But on one extraordinary night, on a rare trip to London, the unthinkable occurs. An intoxicatingly beautiful stranger stirs the sensuous hunger he has sworn to resist. Simon Blackwell believed that no woman could tempt him.
No woman…save Annabel McBride.
Annabel knows nothing of Simon’s secret pain. But one irresistible kiss plunges her into marriage with a man she scarcely knows, a man who hides a shattered past. She can feel the blistering heat of the fire that burns within this exquisitely handsome man, making her yearn for much more than the union in name only he has promised her.
But Simon dares not love again–for fragile love can be lost in an instant. And now Annabel must find a way to open his heart to the most glorious risk of all…
I put in the book blurb on this one because I couldn’t get into the story. I got to Chapter Five and really didn’t see it going anywhere. Anne did nothing for me, I thought she actually was more like a shrew than an independent woman. Simon was ok, except for the need to find some sort of Victorian-Era AA meeting.
There didn’t seem to be much chemistry there and I wasn’t too interested in finding out what exactly the secret passion of Simon Blackwell was.
But then I could be wrong. Did this book rock the socks of anyone and I’m just missing it? This enquiring mind wants to know.
Grade: DNF
I know I read this, but I can’t remember a damn thing about it. Which totally backs up your DNF. Ha!
I didn’t finish it either but I know many people loved it. I agree with what you said about it, plus I felt kind of cheated because the backblurb didn’t mention that Simon was a widower who was still in emotional and sexual mourning for his dead wife. I avoid romance books in which one of the leads has been truly and very deeply in love before (I prefer to read First Love Only Love stories when it comes to romance, if it’s general or women’s fiction I don’t care but if it’s romance I’m picky).