An Independent Wife

this is one I read in the 80's was great then end even better in 2009. A must have

When plain Sarah Jerome catches the attention of the gorgeous and confident Rhy Baines, she doesn't think life could get any better. After a few dates, Rhy proposes marriage and the previously lonely and needy Sarah latches on to the delights of married life. You know what they say, marry in haste, repent at lesiure. In this case, 7 years of leisure. Sarah was unable to deal with Rhy's potentially dangerous job as a foreign correspondent. For a year their marriage became moments of ecstasy followed by long periods of separation and fear. After having lost her family, Sarah is unable to cope and eventually drives Rhy away. He walks out on her with the parting shot, "when you think you're woman enough for me, give me a call." He's arrogant, unyielding, uncompromising and a wee bit of a bastard. But Sarah could also be described as weak, emotional, needy, clingy, and a pushover. Determined to better herself and to become a woman worthy enough of someone like Rhy Baines she strives to better herself. She starts to take college classes and gets a job. With her first paycheck comes the awe of financial freedom and the realization that yes, little Sarah Jerome can stand on her own two feet. She slowly but surely creates a new, independent life for herself but in doing so, she realizes that she and Rhy weren't all that different after all. A chance encounter sets her onto the path of being a reporter and she soon starts to crave the thrill of chasing a hot story. 7 years pass and suddenly Rhydon Baines walks back into her life. Their reunion is explosive and Rhy lets her know that while he may have walked out on her 7 years ago, he has never forgotten her and he all but demands that they start up where they left off. The new and improved Sallie Jerome has no intentions of letting her estranged husband back into her life but unfortunately, as her new boss, Rhy has ways to hound her into submission. His power and connections cuts off the possibilities of divorce or changing jobs. He systematically strips her of her friends, her job, her sense of freedom and purpose and to top it all off, he even steals all her personal possessions. It's quite stalkerific. While he never physically abuses Sallie, though he does grab her roughly a few times, he does put her through the emotional wringer. When's she's been beaten down to as low as she can get, he's waiting to swoop in and tuck her away, so that when he comes homes from a hard day on the job, he has his little wife there to play with. While Sallie is definitely adrift at that moment, she's never down for the count. She steadfastly refuses to be his little homemaker and instead gloms onto writing and soon loses herself in the thrill of writing a book of which Rhy is both supportive and helpful. He just refused to see her in a job where she might be physically harmed. It's all looking quite rosy when Rhy's past arm candy steps in and plays upon all of the old Sarah's fears and doubts and in a rush of tears, S

This novel, like all of Linda Howard's books, is centered around an intriguing relationship, with lots of twists and turns before the happy ending. Her books never fail to please!

This is in the beginning of a fine authors career. Even at this time she had the gift of a great story line and strong characters. I found this book very entertaining and have it in my collection. I find Linda Howard to have a gift of never repeating herself. Not in phrase or story line. Her works are always original and I can't wait for the next one to arrive on the shelves. Those of you who may have just started to read this author would enjoy finding the earlier books and reading them.

I have been a Linda Howard fan for years and when I read this book I know why. so ok the Rhy is controlling. But I like the strong alpha male in my book reading. What I read was the story of an insecure girl who married "the perfect" man for the wrong reasons. He leaves for reasons you discover in the story. But leaving was good because Sally finally comes into her own self worth. She gets off her butt and finally does something worth while. Now that she is where she wants to be she is now ready for the right love at the right time. Enter Rhy. He can't believe this spitefire is his wife and he falls in love all over again. He wants to put her in a plastic bubble and protect her. Okay, he's out of line but he learns and together they learn that love can conquer all.