Harlequin Presents #1776: Slave to Love

Back Cover Description: "After her year-long affiar with Soloman Maclaine, it was clear to Roberta that she would never be anything but his mistress. Mac's first marriage had left its scars on him, but he still seemed to give most of his time to his ex-wife and spoiled daughter. Roberta faced a hard decision: if she were to have the commitment and children she craved, she'd have to leave. But could she really give up the love she shared with Mac? A love that brought with it no promises...but the sweetest nights of passion? I read this book in one day it was a book I read back in high school some 10years ago and I liked it then so I purchased a used copy of it recently and I still love it. The main characters Roberta and Solomon aka MAC are what you assume at first to be your typical harlequin romance characters the weak and undecisive heroine and the alpha male hero. But as you get into the story you realize that unlike many harlequin stories there are no impending pregnancies, secret love-childs, blackmail for money and sex plots. This about two people who have let their past experience with love and/or the lack of it shape how they define their relationship with one another. The heroine Roberta is a product of a loveless childhood where she had two parents who were more interested in saving planet earth than the development and well being of their one and only child, so she was made to feel unloved and unwanted just by her very existence. Then there is the hero MAC who is a divorcee with a 18yr old daughter who makes Linda Blair from the exorcist look like an angel, as well as an ex-wife who in equal parts hates his guts but still has a genuine love and respect for him, for the sheer fact that they share a child and the scars of their own dysfunctional relationship. To some readers the heroine may seem weak because she keeps going back to the hero even though she attempts to "get out" of their rocky relationship several times throught the book, but I believe that the storyline rings true when it comes to love and the complexity of human nature and emotions. Roberta the heroine is not exactly a pushover but more someone who has been starved of love and attention all her life and when she finally realizes herself worth, she spends most of the book trying to define that and yet hold on to a first taste of loving and being in love I would recommend this book as a keeper if you ever get it in your posession.

Roberta had been having an affair with Mac, her boss, for a year now. But Mac still seemed to give his ex-wife and spoilt daughter much of his time. Craving commitment and children of her own, Roberta finally decided that it was time to leave Mac.... only to find that Mac was not at all ready nor willing to let her go. Fiercely possessive and protective of his mistress, Mac pulled out all the stops to keep her at his side, at one point even resorting to deception. Only when it seemed he was, in the end, in very real danger of losing her, did he finally realise that he must tie her down by offering marriage. However, by now, Roberta, was not the least inclined to become a member of his horrible family, and wanted a clean break....At times, the story was frustrating and I wanted to whack both Roberta's and Mac's heads together. Both were very strong characters and stubborn to boot. Reading how Mac had to climb down from his very high horse in the end was most satisfying. Ms Reid has once again delivered a good read.