Touch Me in the Morning by Catherine George

Touch Me in the Morning Reviews

• 
  boogenhagen

  Re Touch Me in the Morning - This one is a boss/secretary trope and generally gets high marks. This h does have a backbone and she actively uses it. I give it high marks too, but every time I reread it, I find myself pondering a few things more and more. This one should probably go on the HPlandia Required Reading list, not so much for the romance - the h and H spend quite a bit of time apart and the actual romance consists of he chases, she avoids or diverts and then he really gets serious.
  
  No, this one should be required because CG has managed to write a social commentary about stereotypes and women without ever giving a hint that this book is all about social commentary that is still applicable even today - she writes a coherent HP romance that is like a hard hitting wolf dressed up like a meek little lamb in a real world exploration about how we perceive women, yet she never once breaks the rules of HPLandia and the H/h relationship is totally the main focus.
  
  Frequently readers complain that a writer will do all tell and no show, that isn't the case with TMITM, it is ALL show and there is very little telling in regards to CG's message. In other words the message is clear and it is there, but it is never explicitly stated, we do get a decent romance - but one of the reasons I think this book is so highly rated even among non CG fans is that it has a very clear perception about how a woman is seen in regards to her style of dress, manner and appearance and what it takes to move past the image and into a real relationship. Maybe most readers can't articulate the underlying understanding that this book gives, but they definitely like the statement.
  
  This book opens with our h getting ready for work. She actually is writing her magnum opus of a bodice ripping romance, this is her avocation and one she is willing to knock herself out for. Not being blessed with a rich family and a trust fund, our h had to find the highest paying job she could. So when she heard of a man who looks like the best thing since sliced bread and has numerous victories on the field of lady lurving with his incalculable charm but can't keep a secretary cause they all fall in love with him, she is interested.
  
  Not in the man, in the highly paid salary he is offering for an office slave and whipping post. Now the h is not short of excellent looks herself, but in this instance she wants that job. She hasn't verbalized it to herself yet, but at the back of her mind is the thought that if she can put enough by in money and really makes a concerted effort, she could eventually subsidize herself to become a real life full time author - if she can get her book published, that is.
  
  So the h takes a look in the mirror and then falling back on the time tested romance tradition of disguising a peacock as a little brown wren, she buys some oversize tailored suits in boring colors, severely pins back her hair and buys a set of clear lens glasses and goes to apply for the H's secretarial position. The H takes one look at the colorless conformity to all things staid and dull before him, reads her typing and dictation speeds and hires her on the spot. Then he proceeds to be the worst and most abusive tyrant of bosses for a year, the h is verbally kicked about like a piece of battered office furniture. Still, she is determined and she is a very capable secretary and she enjoys what she does, just not who she does it for. Her rage and frustration with her boss also inspires her very fertile imagination and soon the grains of a blockbuster bodice ripper excites her inner muse and she begins scribbling away at all hours of the night, so much so that after a year of late night burning the candle at both ends, the h is beginning to look a bit haggard.
  
  Her family and friends are getting quite concerned, it is all well and good to don a 'disguise' for a lark, but this seriously beautiful girl is going to wrack and ruin and perhaps, maybe, there should be a bit of an intervention. The h reassures everyone as best she can, she is just so full of words and so excited that she is almost finished, that she can't help getting caught up in her writing - and she isn't prepared to reveal her secret novel attempt as of yet. She has submitted the first three chapters to a variety of publishers, and she is just hoping that she can catch some fish with her bait. She doesn't like the continual dressing down, but her office appearance is in the nature of uniform to her, and she is being well paid to don it.
  
  The h lives in a shared house divided into flats, and fortunately, the landlords are good friends. The couple is fun and close to the h in age, so she doesn't take it too amiss when the male half of the landlord married couple drops her off at her job with a resounding, bend the h backward kiss - right in front of all the staff and the h's boss. Everyone is amazed that this nonentity of a woman has such a manly man sending her off with such a passionate goodbye. Her tyrannical boss is amazed that his furniture paragon of staid office efficiency even knows what a man and a kiss is, much less that she is experiencing one in full view of Heaven and the entire building. The h smiles her serene and implacable smile and gets down to work. The H seems to notice that the h is a person for the first time, she deflects his queries and as the H has women chasing him and a Portugal holiday resort to open, he makes a casual inquiry about the h's state of health and then it is back to the slave driving the h.
  
  Then one day the h finishes her book. She is ecstatic and now all she has to do is type it out. She runs into a bit of problem there as one night she stays up very late to type and then falls asleep without setting her alarm. She is woken the next day by a banging on her door, it way past time to make it in a timely fashion to work. She jumps up to get the door and throwing on a robe but not bothering with anything else, she flings the door open to find her tyrannical boss ready to call the medics for an in-home injury or illness assist. The H takes one look at the h in her natural state and his eyes pop out. He questions her suddenly changed appearance the h quite bluntly explains that he wanted and unobtrusive doormat whipping post and was willing to pay highly for it. She thought the money made up for the 'uniform' and so she took the job. Nor will she ever fall in the manner of his previous secretaries, she has worked for him too long and knows him way too well.
  
  That is like baiting a bull, the H is all of the sudden VERY interested in the h and her doings, she is polite, but she puts him down in no uncertain terms. She DOES NOT mix business and pleasure, much like the H himself when he pushes her a bit. The h makes it more than clear that she is heavily involved with another man. (which she is in a way, cause she totally wrapped up in her novel's hero.) Then the H gets the brilliant idear of taking the h with him to his opening of his new Portuguese holiday resort, he had intended to take his current sample off the lurvely lady buffet, but things went south there, so this H is always up for seducing new horizons.
  
  They wind up sharing a house and the h is NOT amused. Still the grand opening weekend goes along well enough, the h gets to see a more relaxed side of the H, but that quickly goes out the window when the H can't help but push his luck with an attempt at a roofie kiss. The h shoots him down, but the H manages to get under her guard with a sneaky second roofie kiss and this time the h responds physically. (Well why not, the H is VERY appealing, but that doesn't mean that things aren't going right back to a business footing Monday morning.) This h has a dream and no man on the make is going to derail it, plus it is very interesting to the h that the H could barely be bothered when the h looked like a drab little drone, and how quickly he pursues when the wrapping proves to be more glamorous than first thought but the mind behind the wrapping says a clear NO. The H complains at the return of the h's usual office decorum and the h frankly states exactly that, the H is only chasing cause she turned him down and her appearance is more pleasing. The H rebuts that she certainly looks fantastic, but her unwillingness to slave in the office and then go home and work for him in the bedroom is not.
  
  The h finally gets an acceptance on her novel ( a publisher called Diadem that CG will use as background in future books like
  The Second Bride) and the H is going out of his way to not only make the regular work a nightmare and overloading her in his frustration, but is having her do all those spiteful things that frustrated H's do, like sending flowers to his ladies etc. The h works out that she can live on her savings and partially subsidized by her parents, can live in her aunt's redone weekend cottage while she works on her next book, so the h types out her resignation and prepares to move to bucolic peace of the countryside, she can write full time and even better, not have to fend off the increasingly forceful advances of the H. The H accepts her resignation after some big fighting and a very punishing almost seduction that is interrupted by the company security guard.
  
  The h realizes she has had a lucky escape and it is off to the country we go. We meet the h's "maiden aunt" who in actuality is a 37 yr old sophisticated lady who falls in love with the h's new publisher. For some reason the woman decides to pimp the h out to the H, and she calls him up and gives him the h's address - which the h had deliberately withheld in order to avoid the H's pursuit. (I was really uncomfortable with this, for a variety of reasons) - the aunt's explanation is that she wanted the h to 'get some experience for her romance scenes' but the h was quite clear that she did not want the H's bullying brutal attention and the aunt's involvement in outing h's address to the H was highly suspect. I have to wonder that the aunt wasn't having some jealousy and subtle revenge of her own, cause initially the h's new publisher was quite interested in the h and perhaps the aunt was doing some subconscious malicious vandalism, cause she clearly worried she was stealing the h's potential new conquest.
  
  The h really isn't interested in her publisher in a romantic way, but the aunt's back stabbing was kinda nasty. Particularly since the H does show up and we get the forced seduction. The h is pretty pragmatic about it after it is over. But she is really not interested in being the H's flavor of the month for a few months, even tho the H offers a nice lifestyle with bonus gowns and jewels and an excellent severance package. She eventually had a good climb on the tower of power, but the physicality is over and the h has a new book to write. She kicks the H out, explains to the aunt that the H offered carte blanche with an expiration date and goes back to writing. The H attempts to woo the h by sending rare books and cute little golden retriever puppy. The h still turns him and a life of lux down. She wants to write and she knows that the H isn't someone who would be able to let her do that, the H is too selfish and childish in his temper tantrums for attention and she would wind up subsumed in catering to his needs - he still doesn't see her as a person, only as a 'hot' package and she is worth more than that.
  
  So the H gets into a minor accident and then has his mum call the h and makes it sound the like the H is on his last breathe. The h realizes she cares more than she thought and maybe even loves him after all these months, and so she rushes down to Wales to be by the H's side. Only to find that the H and his mum were faking it, the H fell and hit his head and got a few stitches, but he is no where near dying. The h is really irked, as you can imagine, but the H's mum calms her down and the H tells her he was dying without her and asks her to marry him. The H reiterates that he might die without her, and the h tells him that will solve the problem nicely then. The H still can't believe that he is offering marriage and the h is turning him down. The h explains that he will try to subdue her life to his needs and ego and she would rather have an affair, so she can continue to write. The H's mother, who is admittedly biased, tells the h that she should consider marrying the H, cause he really is in pain without her.
  
  The next morning the H very seriously admits that he loves her and really likes being around her, she keeps up with him and his is equal in every measure, he doesn't want just an affair he wants the full marital commitment cause who she is more important to him that how she looks and she really brings a lot depth and joy to his life. The h tells him she loves him back and then finally believes that her happiness is as important to him as his is to himself. Eventually the h decides to marry the H after a bit of physical persuasion, and the H and h plan on the mum's doing the wedding in three celibate months hence for the HEA.
  
  The story is good and the h can hold her own and does. CG writes some really funny scenes and some really good dialogue exchanges. She also makes the reader take a good hard look at how women are seen in the world based on how they look. It is not a plot device that the h goes from the H seeing her as a thiryish dried up spinster to glamorous twentyish hot property when she describes the h's appearance.
  
  What CG is saying is that too many times the world judges the book based on the cover and that a woman really has to be persistent to be perceived as more than the sum total of her looks. Yet it can be done, and a woman doesn't really even have to be a mean evil person in doing it. CG shows us the importance of having your own avocation in life and how to be true to your self no matter how you look. She also shows that having looks and ambition doesn't mean that you can't have romance and marriage either, you just need to be careful about how you go about it. The big message of the story is that having self-goals with dedication and making sure that a relationship is really right for your inner self and not just your hormones is what every woman should aspire to. The H learns the very hard way that he needs to appreciate the person instead of the just the package and so in the end the romance does satisfy, cause the h and the reader are confident that she isn't going to be an adjutant to the main stage of the H's life, she is valued for herself and while her looks are part of that, is far from the whole and the H learns to appreciate and value it.
  
  Give this one a go and then keep it to read again, because this is one voyage to HPlandia that really does what I wish more romances would do. TMITM gives a believable depiction of a lady who has a strong dream and a strong sense of self worth and she doesn't commit until she gets the inner assurance that her partner will put her needs equal to his own and do his best to support her in her goals. That is real romance in my book and what a lovely place to see that strong affirmation, books like this don't happen every day but it is especially nice to see them in HPlandia.
• 
  Naksed

  I really wanted to love it and I did, up to a certain point. I thought it was hilarious that the heroine lived a double life as a romance writer, basing her wicked rake fictional character on her irascible boss. And that he thought all those dark circles under the eyes of his dowdy, spinster-looking secretary were indicative of a shocking sex life after hours.
  
  Theo (the heroine) was great and very memorable. She got funny lines of dialogue, she was not a doormat, and most of all, I SO admired her single-mindedness in achieving her dream of being published. The hero simply was second best to her writing aspirations. That was a much needed cold shower for the normally arrogant, unapologetic manwhore who believed the world (especially its women) revolved around him.
  
  Things went downhill somewhat for me at the point in the story where it should have been fireworks. After all that tension, their...ahem...consummation of their immense, mutual attraction was kind of weird and cold-blooded, not to mention a wee bit dubious in the consent factor.
  
  And then, that childish, mean trick he played on her with the help of his mother, no less, to rush her to his bedside under the pretense that he was at death's door and force her to admit that she loved him. That did not endear him to me at all. I don't think it's quite romantic when the man in your life can't convince you that you belong together but his mother can lol.
  
  Then he tries to seduce her but has to stop after he because he felt nauseous (from his concussion, not from her ROFL). I think her fictional version of him was a lot more Alpha and attractive. That is a problem.
  
  On a side note, I wonder if Catherine George ever wrote historical romances. The description of Theo's plots and characters made me wish I could actually pick up her novels!
• 
  Saly

  I have never ever read about such a self-sufficient and independent heroine who trumps the hero everytime is so honest with him that is brutal and despite being his secretary for eighteen months doesn't have one iota of romantic feelings for him instead considers him quite a boor and feels pity for the women in his life. To get the job she made herself out to be dowdy which is quite exhausting and to channel her frustration starts writing a novel, her dream and bases the hero on her boss, the hero.
  
  Once he finds out that she isn't that dowdy she throws the glasses and clothes out and blames her sudden change of appearance as the reason he seems to be a bit better, apologetic once he loses his temper etc and says it to his face that he is shallow. Man, if it was any other man than the hero he would have left her alone a long time ago because she never pretends to fawn over him or even fall for him, instead she quits her job and comfortably lives in her aunt's cottage, waiting for her first book to be out and working on the second and letting the hero think she has a lover.
  
  He tracks her down somehow and becomes privy to the fact that the only lover she has is the one she is writing about, but she still gives him the cold shoulder, refusing his offer of them living together. The heroine isn't much of a romantic, she only wants to write in peace and is aware of the hero's thoughts on marriage and his fleeting relationships with women. She doesn't try to change him she just doesn't want him around. I was scratching my head in the middle thinking is this a romance? Will there be a HEA? Since the h/H don't spend much page time together & the h seems to ignore him, his gifts etc but we do get a HEA, not syrupy sweet but good.
  
  The chase is done all by the hero, who gets irritated and baffled by her. She just doesn't want him it seems but she still goes to him when she thinks he is injured, letting something loose in her heart. And his becoming nauseous at the most inopportune moment made me laugh.
• 
  Lakshmi C

  This book gets 4 stars because :
  
  Harlequin Supergirl
  
  She is amazing, she leads a double life, she is Theodora Grace aka Theo.
  
  Theo is single minded, all she wants is to be a published writer and she is doing everything to pursue her dreams. She burns the midnight oil, operates in disguise, has no time for distractions and has a steel core.
  
  She uses James as her muse - including all his flaws, his handsome looks and creatively adds positive qualities to his character in her book.
  
  Theo is unflappable. She has an excellent poker face because she is seriously unaffected by minor routine problems and has no energy or time for emotional battles.
  She is unmoved when she has to deliver things to his lady friends, she is grateful when he goes away and the only thing she needs is sleep.
  
  Theo does not torment herself even after having intimate relations with James.
  
  Catherine George has built a female lead with all the expectations we have for a male lead.
  Theo was pragmatic, focused, she used James for inspiration, had no emotional hangups, was unapologetic about her dreams for her career and independence.
  
  This book loses 1 star because :
  
  James could have been a fine H. But...compared to Theo, he seems ordinary, which didn't convince me about their happily ever after.
  
  
• 
  Vintage

  Very promising start. Heroine is quite a pistol.
  
  I don't know what universe Catherine George writes in, but it is not a Harley universe I am familiar with. CG takes the traditional H and h roles, turns them upside down and slaps them around. Theodora, the h, is a force to be reckoned with.
  
  Theo is secretary-by-day to Mr Alpha Ass-hat James, and struggling author by night. He's a tough taskmaster and goes through secretaries like water; either they make a play for him or can't keep up with the workload. Theo, actually a gorgeous babe, does a reverse makeover to dowdy herself up to get and keep the high paying job. She has endured a year of James pig-like behavior; he's rude and treats her like a sexless automaton which suits the very unsentimental Theo just fine. In fact, she channels some of her frustrations with the H into her fictional alpha hero.
  
  Eventually James sees Theo for the beauty she is. The h overslept the night she finished her book, and her boss comes to check on her. The worm has turned and James is more than a little interested in the h now that she is a stunning and stacked redhead. Do I need to mention that James hovers in man-whore status? Theo is incredibly UNimpressed over his reversal of interest. James ups the ante again and again which culminates in a kiss on a business trip to Portugal. He pushes the envelope just a little more to the point where Theo throws in the towel and quits to write full-time and move to a cute cottage in the country. Her book is going to be published and it's time to really get serious. She is attracted to him, but is quite effective at compartmentalizing. I wish I had been that skilled in thought control in college as I might have had a higher quality of grades and love life. Ah well. Youth.
  
  Let's just say our hero is not good at hearing no. The h is convinced that her allure lies more in her lack of interest than anything else, and she may be right. She's quite clear about her scorn that his treatment of her improved dramatically once she became the babe she is. I guess it's true, Men don't make passes at girls that wear glasses.
  
  Eventually they consummate the relationship in what for me as a reader was a rather anti-climactic event, no pun intended. The H makes her an offer she CAN refuse; he suggests they live together until one or the other gets tired of the situation (probably him) then he'll set her up with a place of her own. The sheer romance of the offer gets him kicked out once again. An attempt at wooing begins with some books and a golden retriever puppy. You had me at "GR puppy". (The most laughable part is his note to her that says the GR will make a good guard dog. Yeah, uh...no. GR are the worst guard dogs EVER. They'd bake a crook a cake for a belly rub.)
  
  Bottom line, the H pulls in the big guns. No, not diamonds. His mom. The h gets a call from his mom saying that he was injured and is calling for her. Thinking he's on his deathbed, she runs to him only to find that the jokes on her although he does have a concussion.
  
  Mom's a hoot as she admits she had sex before marriage, a marriage that did not turn out and served as a bad example to the H. I think they'll live happily ever after as the H seems like the kind of guy that needs a challenge and someone to keep him on his toes, and this h will definitely do that. He finally tells her he loves her and she nods back her consent that she does too. Girl is T-O-U-G-H!
• 
  StMargarets

  This had a five star opening, but once the heroine achieved her dream of being a writer and moved to the country, the action lagged. It's always a risk to keep the H/h apart in a category romance and here it didn't pay off. The angst was all on the hero's side as he desperately tried to connect with the cold fish heroine. And let's face it, after the lively opening with lot of banter and double meaning in the dialogue, descriptions of the heroine writing just weren't as compelling.
  
  I really liked the hero - even when he was barking out orders and being flabbergasted by the heroine. He was so transparent. LOL. Loved that he gave her books and a puppy to win her over. The twist with his mother at the end was a nice touch, too. I just wish the heroine had lightened up a little sooner.
  
  Even though the romance was a bit lacking, there were a lot of little delights in this story. Such as:
  
  Then she took James Hackett as the physical model for her hero, dressed him in doublet and hose, endowed him with all the virtues he appeared to lack and added the vices she felt certain he did not
  
  Now this is how to build a hero!
  
  I really enjoyed the droll tone and the author's obvious love of reading romances as well as writing them.
• 
  *CJ*

  "Touch Me in the Morning" is the story of Theo and James.
  
  *a hundred slow claps for this heroine*.. Man she made him WORK for it!
  
  Our heroine is a dowdy secretary by day to the ultra controlling and playboy boss hero, and a beautiful romance author by night. Choosing to masquerade in a drab look, her only ambition is to collect enough funds so as to have a successful writing career. When the hero discovers her disguise, he comes on strong but the heroine rejects him. Thus begins a game of cat and a very disinterested mouse, where the hero works his ass off trying to woo the heroine, from getting her a puppy to actually stalking her down and begging her; from faking an illness to having angry tantrums- while she pretends to date her book boyfriends and focuses on her career. Yes, she is attracted to him but she definitely does not want to be his bed partner, nor is she interested in marriage! She calls him out on all his double standards, and definitely makes him respect her views and outlook on things.
  
  If you love a strong, independent, successful heroine who is as smart as she is witty, and who makes the hero grovel throughout the book- you'd enjoy this. The hero was so desperate LOL- very sexually frustrated and always pouncing on the heroine to kiss her like a horny cat. I found his eagerness equal parts creepy and funny.
  
  Recommended.
  
  Unsafe hero consistently dated OW until heroine's disguise is revealed- and even after that
  3.5/5
• 
  RomLibrary

  She wrote of romance but longed for love
  
  Theo lived a double life. From nine to five, the horn-rim-bespectacled, prudish "Miss Grace," ever-efficient secretary to ladykiller James Hackett, earned enough money to support the after-hours real Theodora.
  
  And since romance was not something she associated with James Hackett, it was surprising that the passionate tales she wrote starred a leading man with a remarkable resemblance to him.
  
  She couldn't help wondering though if she would ever live--and love--in her own life, so happily ever after
• 
  EeeJay

  Is this an HQN? Really? Because the content is so mature, so beautifully presented and there is just so much of it that it feels like a Lisa Kleypas novel (wait, she writes strong heroines, right?)
  
  A very independent heroine, an adorable puppy, a guy who grovels. What more can you want?
• 
  Aou

  I loved the h who knew her self worth!
• 
  Melanie♥

  3.5 stars
  
  Enjoyable old HP.
  
  I love a good office romance, however….
  
  The heroine was too cold and detached for me. I felt she would have been just as happy without the hero. And our poor hero was starting to give off a pathetic vibe…not good.
  
  “Can’t we just be lovers, James?” she asked, sighing. “I’m not sure I can manage to be a wife and carry on writing. And I want so desperately to write.” That about sums up her attitude towards James for the majority of the book.
  
  I did take away some interesting learnings:
  1. Eponymous means giving their name to something.
  2. Drongo is slang for fool
  3. Apocryphal is a fancy way to say doubtful authenticity
  4. A Welshcake is a scone cooked on a griddle.
  
• 
  Leona

  This was an ok read. The heroine was a bit too cold for my tastes and there just seemed to be a lack of connection between H/h.
• 
  niteskycs

  3 stars
  
  really fun boss-secretary trope book, especially because the h was not romantically interested in her boss whatsoever and was more concerned with getting her books published.
• 
  Dalia

  I m not a fan of CG s books, a lot of her most recent books were dnf for me, but i was tempted to read this one because of the positive reviews. I'm glad I did. it seems that her older books were way better.
  I love a hero in pursuit, but our hero here deserve everything he got :-) What a feisty heroine !!! She does nothing but glare at hero, snap at him and fight him every step of the way. The secondary characters were very well written too, adding a lot to the story.
  My only complaint is that there isnt enough interaction between h/H they don't meet enough, H is absent for the most part of the book.
• 
  shms

  Contrary to popular opinion, I wasn't feeling this romance. She (the h) seemed like a strong character not prepared for any shenanigans, which is all good, but also came across as dishonest and quite bitchy at times. I really didn't take to her. He (the H), I was more sympathetic towards. Obviously a player, she really gave him the full treatment, usually its the h's that get put through the mill. He more than grovelled. He begged.
  
  A miss for me, I was left wondering how and why this book made it onto my reading list
  
• 
  Robin Reynolds

  I truly adore old romances, and particularly Harlequin Presents. Catherine George is my favorite Harlequin author. Touch Me In The Morning is a classic George story.
  
  By day, Theo dresses in dowdy “maiden aunt” clothing and horn-rimmed glasses to work as a secretary for the very demanding, egotistical, tantrum throwing James Hackett. By night, she settles into her attic apartment in more becoming clothing and a little make-up, to spend her evenings as Theodora, writing a romance novel.
  
  This is the second George book I've read recently where the heroine drabbed herself down in order to get a job. Previous secretaries had a tendency to fall for Mr. Hackett's good looks and charm, and he wanted a secretary who would be immune to him. And he was just as immune to her, until the day he inadvertently saw her landlord plant a kiss on her, and suddenly he realized there was a woman beneath the matronly clothing.
  
  Next to the romances written today, these old Harlequins (this one was published in 1988) are tame and quaint. But they are also very romantic, which is the whole point, right?
• 
  Hollie

  maybe all time favorite. Just reread and still so good.
• 
  Namera [The Literary Invertebrate]

  RTC
• 
  DamsonDreamer

  ⁸I always quite like the meta aspect of a romance novel h who is writing a romance novel. Robyn Donald did this in A Forbidden Desire and there's at least one other (maybe a Sara Craven?) that I really enjoyed. Here the h Theo(dora) Grace is an independent minded workhorse. She's PA to demanding, womaniser H, James Hackett, by day (in a plain, bespectacled guise) and busily penning her novel into the small hours at night. It's a bit of an unusual vibe in this one in that she is pretty resistant to his charm and doesn't exactly succumb to treacherous body syndrome at a hatdrop. They are apart quite a lot so it does lose some impetus. As a didactic tale about women's appearances affecting how they are treated and the perennial "thing apart/existence" m/f approach to love it certainly hits the target. He's absolutely desperate for her on any terms by the end and she's held out for what she (and we) hope will be a respectful combination of marriage /career. Only time will tell, Theo. And frankly, only the patter of tiny feet will really tell. Refreshing (for HP) pragmatic attitude to sex before marriage on the part of the hs aunt and Hs mother.
• 
  Tmstprc

  An entertaining battle of wills.
• 
  Margo

  The H needed to grow up a lot and the h needed to loosen up. Eventually they met in the middle.
• 
  Daisy Daisy

  I loved this book even though the title reminds me of some dodgy 80's song wailed by some woman I can't remember.
  The H in this book is totally and utterly smitten by the h once he gets past her disguise is he a bit shallow? yep but our h is totally feisty and calls him on it. She doesn't really want him she would rather just write historical romances forever. She only went to work for the H for the £££ and disguised herself so she could just crack on with the job and be left alone! I love our h she just really isn't all that fussed by the H sure she enjoyed him but when he was around but not enough to shack up with him as he suggested! He just can't believe it and slinks off to sulk.
  One other think I liked in this book is the h sex life was not really mentioned from what I recall. I assume she wasn't a virgin as there was no "lets go easy on the bumping uglies" and no shaming which I found refreshing especially for an older story.
  The H is rather a buttmunch but he does buy her a dog so he does earn brownie points there.
  Theo is my new favourite heroine she totally got her man, her career and her dog!
• 
  Lemon

  I really don't get where the title of this book comes from - nothing from the book really resonates with this title. In any event, I enjoyed this book. The beginning of the book was quite slow and I never really got when the hero was supposed to have fallen in love with the h since he apparently never even noticed her before her "transformation." It would have been a better book if we had seen more of the process of how the hero starts to notice, then get to know, then fall in love with the heroine and vice versa. The first half of the book was quite slow and could have been put to better use in developing the relationship. The heroine was quite different and outspoken although a little bit mean for no particular reason at times. Don't get me wrong though, this was still an enjoyable read and a nice change of pace for an HP.
• 
  MaryD

  A very unusual HP heroine, Theo had disguised herself as a very plain, asexual woman to get a job as secretary to James Hackett, a womanizer through and through. Theo has a dream of becoming a published writer of historical romances and her salary will help with that- if she can survive her selfish, rude boss.
  
  I loved that she was able to withstand his pressure time and time again and remained true to her dreams. Such a breath of fresh air!
• 
  Tia

  It wasn't bad but it didn't hold my attention all the way through. The heroine was really cruel at times and the hero definitely had some sort of commitment issues. It was kind of all bundled into this package of chaos. The hero did have a sweet spot though, when he began sending the heroine gifts to change her mind.
• 
  Cheesecake

  I'm not going to star this one as I DNFed at 73%.
  
  Theodora is one COLD FISH!
  James was your typical HP alpha jerk who lusts after the girl with no plans for marrying her.
  And yet, I felt more for James than I did for Theo. He had a nice story arc from not noticing her to being obsessed with her, to falling in love... Theo? Nope. For a girl who aspires to write romances, she sure lacks a romantic bone in her body!
  
  I was so hooked at first with her whole disguise as a dowdy wallflower. James finds out the truth pretty early on and then the story just seems to spin it's wheels interminably.
  To top it off, the MCs don't even spend much time together in the story.
  SOoooo,
  A) Theo shows absolutely no interest in James (not even for sex)
  B) The MCs spend most of the book apart
  C) After they finally have sex, I wasn't even sure it had happened...
  How is this a romance???
  
  Safety is OK James dated and even lived with others before Theo. They weren't important to him and he had no plans to marry them. Theo had to send them consolation prizes. But she didn't care so why should we (the readers)? Theo is not a virgin... I think? Probably not, I guess...
  
• 
  Nelly

  Words cannot express how much I HATED this book!
  
  
  It took me weeks to finish it, it is just that stupid and uninteresting...
  Theo or Theodora was such a silly bitch, really! Like her aunt said, vicariously living through her book characters: she worked during the day and wrote all night, pretended her hero was her boyfriend, the man she lived with!
  She wanted what's his name, but was always pushing him back
  
  
  Now what's his name, Jem or whatever... ewww, he was no better: obsessive, excessively demanding and not sexy at all! Also a rapist.
  
  
  I didn't like this couple. Too much push and pull, no romance, no falling in love, no connection, nothing just plain stupidity!
  
  I'm glad I'm done with it
• 
  Roub

  astounding one! absolutely loved it! it had its hilarious moments as well as morose ones. i thought the author shud have made theo give in at some point of the book, this wud have made her more humane in my eyes. james grew pathetic as the book went on. he was like a dog after the heroine! as so many readers pointed out, she was too cold! i still rated the book highly as i enjoyed the ride very much!:D
• 
  Su

  2 stars for beautifully put together words. Authors today don't know how to write so well anymore.
  However, story line and romance didn't do much for me.