| Title | : | The Frenchmans Captive Wife |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0373125941 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780373125944 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2006 |
Now Luc is back, demanding to see his son: Emily must go to his château to play the role of mother—and wife. When they're thrown together the chemistry between them escalates. But how can Emily win back Luc's trust—for herself and their son?
The Frenchmans Captive Wife Reviews
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This was a good second chance story. The heroine was young and insecure when she married the H and the H's remote personality and penchant for secrets doomed their young marriage. When he didn't turn up for their baby's ultrasound, the heroine left him. Now, a year later, after she contacted her solicitor's to draw up divorce papers, the hero shows up to whisk mother and son to his French Chateau. He's angry. She's angry. They are still attracted to each other and the personal assistant is still around.
Good stuff. The hero was a complete control freak jerk at the beginning and is still a control freak at the end of the story - but the reader and the heroine finally understand him and he isn't so much a jerk as someone who has had a lot of tragedy in his life and is painfully trying to control everything so tragedy will never happen again.
I would have liked to see him confront the PA for her lies, but alas, that was off page. I need my vengeance for a complete HEA. -
Loved this book. The hero was a real jerk at times but the h drove me crazy. They were both got and cold. I liked that we heard his thoughts and it made me like him more. He brings her home after a year apart and the OW is still in his life. She was evil but he never slept with her or wanted too. She was his ex sister in law and he thought she was a good friend. But she was sabotaging the h all the time. The truth came out eventually but it never said if he fired her or not. They finally talked at the end and it was the usual HEA with a couple of unicorn turds mixed in. It's never going to be sunshine and rainbows for them. They are both bi-polar and need meds. I still liked it though but I also take meds. Just saying...
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3.5 stars ⭐️
The heroine was very weak and hero disgustingly cruel. Dare I say they were an even match.
After sometime I was rolling my eyes at heroine and her never ending insecurities. And hero intentionally used cruel words at the heroine. He was apparently in love with her but even Einstein won’t be able to deduct that from his words or actions. The plot was good and hero was faithful to her from day 1. And a refreshing factor was he never slept with OW (which U have to admit is rare. They are always hero’s exes).
He was also very tenacious and apologised for some of the cruel taunts. He fought for their marriage endlessly.
Oh, I almost forgot weak/betraying body alert.
No epilogue.
Recommended. -
***FIVE STARS!***
I absolutely loved this story. It had all the angsty feels I could ever want from a woman who believed she could never be loved by her husband. A husband who constantly spent all of his time with another woman over her. Emily's devastation at realizing that Luc would never love her the way that she loved him, and her devastation at realizing he never wanted the baby she was carrying. Emily's strength at walking away from the marriage felt very real. I loved the push and pull between these two when Luc finally found Emily and their son. And I completely felt Emily's doubts and insecurities because of Luc being so emotionally closed off from her, as well as Luc always believing his sister in law Robyn, over Emily. Emily and Luc had some pretty nice chemistry though, and the sex was very hot. This was a wonderful way to spend my afternoon.
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Angsty, intense read! Very enjoyable!
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3.5 stars. This was a steamy read but not much else. The H definitely deserved a better h than the one he got. Emily was an average h with somewhat sad backstory. No she wasn't destitute, but instead felt neglected by her family and only cheered up around the stable. She leaves the H on suspicions of infidelity, only to try and return to him again after a year of staying apart. Initially H is super angry (understandably) and they end up fighting more often than not at the beginning. But as the story progresses, you see the H trying to make amends/change his ways while the h just goes on trying to make life difficult for him. One moment she wanted to win over his love, the next moment, she was vowing to leave him all over again. So every time I thought things were looking up for them, the very next paragraph would take me back to square one where the h has found something new she doesn't like or accept or trust about the H. It was just too contrived. Sometimes it made me wonder at the H's patience.
Things I liked included the H, the castle setting in Loire Valley and of course, the chemistry. So as far as modern HPs go, this was pretty decent I suppose - hence the 3.5 stars. But it's definitely not worth a re-read. At least for me. -
Three stars because
ONE
The emotionally remote hero has three separate backstories to explain his horribleness as a husband:
1. His general aloofness in the first year of their marriage is explained by a family history (including his parents') of domineering men and their miserable wives who end up committing suicide.
2. His specific remoteness re: the wife's pregnancy is due to
...so he's all about not getting attached to the heroine because he's afraid of feelings and loss.
3. His suspiciously close relationship to his gorgeous PA (who is also his widowed sister-in-law) is because
I'm only sorry there weren't more offenses that needed to be excused with additional tragic backstories.
TWO
The pixie sprite heroine with low self-esteem has three reasons for abandoning her marriage and going into hiding:
1. Her husband missed the baby's first ultrasound when he had promised to be there, confirming in her mind his indifference to their unborn baby.
2. She has "proof" the husband was unfaithful with his PA. This story is kind of convoluted and requires a bit of spackling.
3. Her mother confirms that her parents offered to cut the hero a deal on his purchase of their stately English home if he married one of their daughters.
THREE
The OW makes three outrageous -- and outrageously successful -- attempts to fracture the marriage:
1. The whole business with the "changed" return flight and the hero staying overnight with her is because she supposedly needs the hero's support after . Then, just to make sure he's prevented from going to his wife's ultrasound appointment the next day,
2. When the heroine visits her husband's Chelsea flat six weeks after the baby is born,
3. In an attempt to spike their reconciliation, she tells the heroine the tragic backstory
So it's triple 1990s-style HP angst everywhere you look in this story, and I would love it except...
1. I can't stand the specific flavor of treacherous body syndrome employed here. The heroine keeps insisting she doesn't want the hero, then he sexes her up, she pants, and he verbally humiliates her. Either stop the protesting or the panting, lady. You're embarrassing yourself, and it's giving me a painful case of secondhand embarrassment.
2. The hero's response to the heroine's low self-esteem, which manifests itself as jealousy of the PA and , is simply to call her on it. Indeed, instead of bolstering her self-confidence, he criticizes her childish behavior and her "sluttish" dress. Very helpful, hero. I can't wait for the heroine to start mocking you for your skittishness re: suicide threats.
3. The hero's confrontation with the OW over her lies and manipulation takes place off-page, and it's extremely unclear whether she got any comeuppance at all other than the news that the hero intends to stay with his wife. "Robyn lied to both of us, ma petite, but if it's any consolation, she's bitterly sorry for the harm she caused." Bitterly sorry...so you're keeping her on as your troublemaking PA? Or bitterly sorry because you fired her? I NEED DETAILS, JEAN-LUC! He had definitely erred in the past by prioritizing the OW before his wife, and I deserve to see some vengeance and remorse.
Still, I'm a little excited right now because I appreciate the author's adherence to the older HP characterizations (innocent, downtrodden heroine + sophisticated, remote hero unable or unwilling to express his love + deliciously evil OW). I'm going to give a couple more of her books a try to see if I can find one without that particular flavor of TBS. -
"Adultery isn’t necessarily a physical act."
This was such a good second chance story and features hot and cold behavior from the hero.. push and pull relationship dynamic generates most of the angst and hot sex, which I pretty much enjoyed! But perhaps an epilogue further down the line would have been nice. -
I have no idea...why I even had this book. It had a sticker on it suggesting I picked it up at the library book store, which perplexes me. Surely I had a reason for buying it. But what?
Ok, the rules for HP need to be revised.
Old:
H old enough to be h's father
h painfully naive
PA (because every gazillionaire has a PA) ex-supermodel astrophysicist who manages his books as a hobby (while trying to get in his pants)
Some form of misunderstanding because H is clueless about PA's intentions and thinks h is psychotic.
New (proposed):
H closer in age to h
h having a passing familiarity with BOB (and the ability to say "No")
PA (if you really insist on having one) being old enough to be H's mother and about as willing to box his ears for being stupid.
H/h actually getting to know each other and, you know, trying to see things through each other's eyes
There. That about covers it. Would save me from reading about some 22 year old and her nearly 40 year old husband who refuses to believe his PA is deliberately cause strife in his marriage. Also would keep me from snorting that price tags are hardly indicators of taste (if I had to read one more time about her cheap dress, I was going to scream).
Oh yeah. One other thing - rules for riding. Never ride alone. Ever. -
Lots of angst and drama in this old skool HP. H is a cold/cruel jerk. H/h marry for H to acquire h family estate and h's family needs the money. h is young and innocent but the chemistry/sex between the two is off the charts. h becomes pregnant - H has a negative reaction. h leaves as she believes H is having an affair with his PA/widowed SIL and H is a workaholic (probably by design of PA/SIL.) As h plans to divorce H, he finds her blossoming at an artist commune and takes his son - h accompanies him because of the child. He moves them to a medieval family estate in France.
Neither trusts the other. During their "reconciliation", the H's past is revealed - this guy had quite a bit of trauma in his life The PA/SIL tries to separate the two again and eventually the H sees it.
The H grew on me. The angst and drama entertained me - I'm a sucker for jerk heroes who learn a few things and scheming/conniving OWs. 3.5 stars -
I liked this HP, just enough angst without going overboard. The OW drama was a little disappointing, she got off too easy without comeuppance. I also would have liked a little more grovel from Luc. That said, the story was entertaining, it got me out of a mini book slump.
3.75 Stars -
So Luc and Emily have been married for about a year. She gets a bun in the oven and it appears that Luc has moved on….w/ Robyn. It really didn’t look good for Luc. He lied about a later flight and Emily saw him w/ Robyn. What doesn’t make sense is that Robyn is hounded by the press and yet no mention of them at the airport or the possibility that Emily could’ve discovered Luc’s lie through the tabloids. Emily does a runner and the mega bucks shrewd businessman can NOT find her for well over a year! But it seems to be a walk in the park to locate a horse later, perhaps he didn’t really expend much in the way of locating her though.
He longed to see his child and was extremely worried/scared for Emily (a past situation brings about this fear) – however you will note that he didn’t long that much as he missed an ultrasound for Robyn AND he apparently lacked the funds and know how to hire a decent PI to track down his estranged wife. Yet he finally does because he “wined and dined” her attorney’s employee to get the info. Luc stands by his SIL/PA and claims that Emily’s jealousies and childishness has no basis and he even gets a little violent. Okay what would you call it when he squeezes her fingers to where she feels he may break them?
Luc says mean things to her – that’s the norm in these angst ridden books, right; he threatens to leave her while he takes the child; and claims that she abandoned the baby. However, big bad Luc claims he will not abandon the baby and will be w/ him – I guess work and hiring a nanny doesn’t count (remember the whole Emily abandoned crud well how does this seem okay for Luc now?) At one point Luc claims he doesn’t forgive easily, but I felt that he forgave Robyn pretty darn quickly.
Really felt like Luc placed Robyn ahead of Emily. He thinks he has a good excuse but something just didn’t gel for me. He was emotionally cheating w/ Robyn and didn’t truly seem to be a man scared for Emily (He didn’t hunt her down. He enjoys Christmas time w/ friends instead of searching for her!) I really loved (sarcasm) the following line: Emily says - Give me one reason I should believe anything you say. Luc replies: Because you are my wife. Note this doesn’t work for Emily “the I am your wife you must believe me” stuff.
IDK if he was so concerned about losing Emily then his putting Robyn first didn’t make a lot of sense – perhaps he was concerned about losing Robyn as well. Robyn lied but he she feels awful about it we just don’t know what happens to her after her confession though. Considering he doesn’t forgive easily I hope she is kicked out, but I just think he continues to keep her around. -
The h and H are married. She thinks he is cheating on her with his secretary, the OW, who was married to his brother. He feels loyalty to that OW, but they never had sex or something.
The pregnant h runs. And in good, old HP fashion the h runs without telling the H why.
One year later she files for divorce. She has a baby son. The H now knows where she lives, so he comes to get her and their son. That’s where the book starts.
The H swears to the h that there isn’t and wasn’t anything between him and the OW. He explains his loyalty to the OW and his late brother. But the h doesn’t believe it.
The H tells her that she is in his heart and that he can’t get her out his mind. He says he will not let her leave him. He repeatedly asks for a new start to their marriage. He says he has learned from the past and that he has delegated his business affairs so he can spend more time with her and their son.
Yet the stupid h wonders if he loves her. *facepalm*
The H says to her that he did want their son and nothing would please him more than to see his baby in her belly and that he therefore has done nothing to prevent her from getting pregnant.
When the h gets pregnant again, the stupid h says to someone she doesn’t know how he feels about her pregnancy.
So if a man has said to you that nothing would please him more than to see you pregnant again, you wonder how he feels about your pregnancy? I guess there’s no end to stupid.
The H keeps trying to win her over. With excuses about what he did in the past, with explanations about the OW and about his actions in the past, with deeds, with hot sex. He keeps asking her to give their marriage another chance. And the h keeps rejecting him because she thinks he has something with not only his secretary, but also with other women. He must be a saint to be that patient with her.
Steamy sex scenes in this book. I love a besotted H who can’t keep his eyes and hands off the h.
I don’t really know this author Chantelle Shaw. I’m interested in reading more books from her. -
Not bad maybe a 3.5
Second chance story of a husband and wife. Reminds me of the Emma Darcy book, The Breaking Point, where the PA causes trouble for the couple. PA in this story managed to do a better job since the couple separate for a year. The ED book is WAY better, its one of my favorites.
The heroine was a bit too insecure but she was young and unappreciated in her own family. The Hero was a douche for practically the whole book, and since he was much older, I cant readily forgive him. Though he did not cheat on his wife, he has a multitude of other sins, like neglecting and ignoring his new bride. Transplanting her out of her home, but not allowing her a life for herself, and worst of all, indulging the whims of the evil PA and knowingly missing his appointment to accompany his pregnant wife to their Ultrasound. The wife is convinced that he does not want her or her baby.
So yeah, he was a jerk douche and mad that she left him. 🙄
The author managed to keep me glued till the end so, yeah it merrits more than just a 3-star. -
The hero was an idiot, he tried controlling the situations too much and it blew up in his face. Also why did he seem to be defending Robyn at the end even hen. The bitch should of been burnt at the stake.
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God, I wanted to punch the PA. sheesh. lol
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Üzgünüm Jean Luc cuğum ama diğer Shaw karakterleri kadar değildin. :D
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Good quick read.
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أسيرته مدى الحياة
شانتيل شاو
إنه يريد استرجاعها لصالح طفلهما!
أجبرت أميلي فايلون على ترك زوجها منذ عام. كان الشغف الموجود بينهما صاعقاً، لكنها لم تعد قادرة على البقاء مع رجل لا يحبها، خصوصاً حين اكتشف أنها حامل.
أما الآن فقد عاد لوك ليطالب برؤية ابنه، ستعود أميلي إلى قصره حتى تلعب دور الأم والزوجة.
إنها محتجزة في القصر، وعليها أن تتأقلم مع وجودها إلى جانب زوجها الوسيم. بالرغم من تصاعد التوتر وفي نفس الوقت الانجذاب بينهما. إلا أن شكوكها حيال سكرتيرته الخاصة وحيال ماضيه تزداد يوماً بعد يوم. على أميلي أن تكتشف سر لوك الحقيقي، إن أرادت أن تعرف الحقيقة فعلاً، وتستعيد ثقته لأجل نفسها ولأجل ابنها. -
Emily Vaillon left her husband, Luc, a year ago. She couldn't stay with a man who clearly didn't love her--especially after she discovered she was pregnant. Now Luc is back, demanding to see his son: Emily must go to his cha teau to play the role of mother--and wife. When they're thrown together the chemistry between them escalates. But how can Emily win back Luc's trust--for herself and their son?" (less)
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this book was intensely emotional! The Hero's fear, anxiety love and hatred were felt. I enjoyed the story! Classic Grovelling! A must read and I recommend!
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H was so horribly cruel, kept several secrets from h, trusted OW over h, and kept using sex to escape confrontation. H was also outrageously possessive and over-controlling!!! h was a doormat and allowed H to bulldoze over her, her life, and her decisions. Would give 0 stars if I could, certainly not recommended for any woman who has an ounce of self-respect.
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Around And Around And Around. This Book Takes You Around In Circles With The Same Stupid Plot. In My Opinion The Only Time There Is A Failure To Communicate While Talking Is Stupid, And Only Works In The Movie COOL HAND LUKE. At Some Point Emily Has A Headache And Takes A Aspirin, To Bad A Aspirin Couldn’t Cure This Plot A Blind Multimillionaire Who Repeats History And A Winey Mother, Geez.
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I think the heroine was weak too. She falls easily to h arms and then they have sex sex sex.
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It was a little redundant in the heroine's misgivings. It was a little predictable.
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This was disgusting! I barely finished the first chapter. I don't know who invented this sick and twisted idea about romance, but the beginning was wrong on so many levels.
