The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
A cruel twist of fate changed Simon Blackwell's life irreparably. 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 smolders 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 . . .
Samantha James
It was Samantha James's love of reading as a child that steered her toward a writing career. Among her favorites in those days were the Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames series of books. She still loves a blend of mystery and romance, and, of course, a happily-ever-after ending. The award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many romances and one novella, her books have ranged from medieval to Regency.
Read more from Samantha James
A Perfect Groom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Perfect Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Perfect Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Wicked Ways Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gabriel's Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Promise Given Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Wicked Promise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Moonlit Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Times a Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bride of a Wicked Scotsman Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Just One Kiss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell
Related ebooks
Lady Midnight Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Sinful Education: Pleasure Garden Follies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Baron's Bed Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Matter of Convenience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHelene Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarl of Scandal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dead Man's Debt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Ruin A Rake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Captain’s Lady: Ladies in Scandal, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dark and Brooding Gentleman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Moon Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When a Lady Deceives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Matter of Honor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNot Your Average Earl: The Curse of the Weatherby Ball, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wicked Wager Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeception at Midnight Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5His Mask of Retribution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLace for a Lady Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRedemption from a Dark Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rake to Reveal Her Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Forbidden To The Duke Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Scoundrel for the Rebellious Lady: Secret Lords and Ladies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Live Indecently Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lady of Steel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLightning Unbound: Even Gods Fall In Love, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seduction Of Sarah Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Carrying the Gentleman's Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sheik: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDevil's Own Bargain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lyon's Bride: The Chattan Curse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical Romance For You
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bred By The King In Public: Dominant King Erotic History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pride and Prejudice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lover Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady's Tutor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Kingdom of Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Empress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Versions of Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonwyck: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Years to Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Home Child Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pride and Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold-Hearted Rake: The Ravenels, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Wonderful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes One Through Three: The Bastard, The Rebels, and The Seekers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret of Pembrooke Park Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil’s Submission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bastard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady of Ashes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Antony and Cleopatra: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once Upon A Time: A Collection of Folktales, Fairytales and Legends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dancing at Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Green Darkness: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whitney, My Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame Serpent: A Catherine de' Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barbarian's Concubine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Garden in England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell
109 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Wallpaper historical. Two-dimensional characters.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Although well written, I had trouble reading this. I understood the pain Simon felt, as well as the pain Anne went through as well. Both pains were different yet intense. A scandalous kiss and the two are bound together by a kiss. Simon's past haunts him to the point that he barely takes pleasure in life - until Anne comes along and stirs up his life. The harder he tries to distance himself the closer they became. And yet something undefinable was missing. Or maybe all too definable to Simon. Love. His bane, his pleasure, his curse and savior. Anne changes his life for the better and these two stubborn souls deserve the happiness they found in each other.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A misleading title, probably chosen for its impact. A more accurate title might have been 'The Secret Agony of Simon Blackwell' or 'The Secret Torment of Simon Blackwell'.
Simon Blackwell is a tetchy recluse from Yorkshire who is forced to visit London for a relative's birthday. He rescues a small boy from the hooves of a spooked horse, then berates the woman he thinks is the child's mother. The object of his vicious tongue is Anne, the cousin of Caroline, the boy's mother, who was distracted by her other child at the time of the near-accident. Grateful of the stranger's help and unaware of his tongue-lashing of Anne, Caroline invites Sebastian to dinner. The negative tension between Anne and Sebastian is palpable, but when they step out onto the terrace, they find themselves drawn into a passionate kiss, which is unfortunately witnessed by other members of Anne's family.
In this particular social mythology, a stolen kiss disgraces the woman and forces the man to wed her, which is what the pair do with great reluctance.
Whisked away to Sebastian's rambling but shabby and empty country home, Anne finds herself stranded with a morose and tight-lipped spouse who announces that he will not be availing himself of his marital privileges and will arrange a divorce at the earliest socially acceptable opportunity.
For most of the remainder of the book, Anne attempts to pierce the emotional wall surrounding Sebastian, discovering improbably late that he is a widower who lost his wife and children in a tragic fire for which he blames himself.
This part of the story, in which Anne gently slips under Sebastian's guard and even succeeds in arousing him sexually, is the best part of the book.
The author's attempt to bring the confrontation to a climax followed by a happy resolution is less than successful. As the end approaches, raw emotion is replaced with plodding prose and the sudden appearance of Caroline and her kids, symbols of the potential joys of marriage and parenthood, is convenient and facile.
By end of the book I was half-hoping that Anne would leave Sebastian to his self-inflicted misery, thus introducing a sour note to balance the cloying sweetness of the preceding pages. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annabel McBride has always longed for the love and passion that she has seen within in her own family, and children of her own. When a almost accident puts Simon Blackwell in her path, she doesn't know if she should run away or draw closer. After sharing a passionate embrace and then having to be married when caught, Annabel hopes that she will be loved in this marriage, however all her hopes are dashed when it is more than obvious that Simon has no intention of sharing a bed with her let alone a lifetime. Simon after having a tragic past and losing most of whom he loved, is hesitant to be in love once more, and if he lost Annabel he knows he could never go through it a second time. So he goes about trying to avoid her, but her influence is everywhere on his estate, and when Annabel goes about to seduce her own husband, Simon knows he doesn't stand a chance, and when they both find a heightened desire and passion, the rulebook that Simon has placed on their marriage goes out the window, and true love will be replaced.I found that even though I enjoyed reading Annabel's story, the first half of the book seemed to go very slow and there were times that I had a hard time getting through it. I have read many books of Samantha James and thought that this one I could get through easily, but I was wrong. I mean once it reached a certain point I could hardly put it down, however it was reaching that point that was the problem. I don't kow if it was me or the way the story was written, but that was a big issue for me. But I still recommend reading this book, it was a great read, and I am glad that I did read it. This is a fun series to read, so I do recommend reading it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It is true that it is an extremely dark story (the hero mourns his lost wife and kids 5 years after they're gone). It was also very well written, emotional, angsty and with incerdible, palpable tension between the hero and heroine. You can feel Simon's desire and need for his young wife in every page and ache with him. Anne was also a great character; strong and determined to make their marriage a real one, but without being pushy or childish when Simon appears to remain stuck in the past. This is not a book for everyone. But, for those readers who enjoy a darker edge in their romances, I would highly recommend this one.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5After the tragic deaths of his wife and sons Simon Blackwell takes refuge in the wilds of the moorlands and shutting himself off from the world only coming to London to celebrate his aunt's birthday. In London he heroically saves the life of a young boy but in the process infuriates the boy's aunt with his outspoken rudeness. Although Annabel McBride is furious by Simon's verbal attack, mutual desire leads to an inappropriate kiss at Simon's aunt's birthday ball. When they are caught, the only way to save Annabel's reputation is by a hasty marriage. Despite the circumstances of the marriage Annabel is horrified to be informed that Simon intends the marriage to be in name only and to obtain a divorce after a year. But when their desire grows into something deeper, Simon has to be willingly to risk love despite the possibility of painful loss.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5My first book by Samantha James. It was okay. Two strangers marry and learn to lover each other. The first in a new series.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5sad. not all that it could be.