Sunday, October 1

Double Standards by Judith McNaught

In the exclusive, glittering world of business superstars, Nick Sinclair was a legend...

The ruggedly handsome president of Global Industries handled his business the way he handled his women-with charm, daring, and ruthless self-control. A man used to the very best, Nick hired Laura Danner, and assumed that the proud beauty would soon be another easy conquest. But Laura's flashing wit and rare spirit dazzle him-and slowly, against his will, he was intrigued, challenged-and in love.


Yet Laura was living a lie, a charade that became more dangerous with every passing moment. Trapped in a web of deceit, she fought her growing love for Nick. Her secret could destroy his fragile trust-and the promise of life with the most compelling man she had ever met!



I was
finally able to find someone who has a copy of the book and borrowed it from her. This was the first reread I've had of the book since more or less ten years ago. Back then I really thought this was a very good book. I dunno about now though. I guess it was still a good read and it had the trademark JM sob factor BUT it just didn't appeal to me that much anymore.

Lauren was too naive for my taste. I've read hundreds of naive heroines but Lauren just irritated me. I wanted to shout at her to wake up...I think, I did. And I wanted to clobber Nick when he refused to let Lauren explain even after she begged him on her knees. These flaws in the characters just annoyed the heck out of me.

As a hopeless romantic, the love story was okay. It's always interesting when a worldly playboy falls in love with a small-town girl. That plot always makes for interesting dynamics in the characters. But it just failed here.

But I did like one part--when Nick told Lauren that he wanted daughters with "wobbly blue eye" like hers. I somehow think that when someone says something like that, you come clean with whatever you are hiding that could potentially hurt that person. Unfortunately, Lauren didn't do anything of the sort. I dunno what she was waiting for not to tell him that she was hired by his stepfather to spy on Nick's company. Because all crap aside, she really would have been spying for Whitworth no matter how the old coot put it.

Nonetheless, it was a mediocre reading experience this time around. That's why I've decided never to review a book after just one reading. Nuh-uh.

Final verdict: 6.5/10. A try-to-read.

10 comments:

Kristie (J) said...

I read this one years and years ago and while I liked it, I had a bit of trouble with the anguish that the author put the poor heroine through. She really made her suffer!

Rowena said...

Ugh!

I really love this book! And I really love Nick Sinclair, he's one of my favorite JM heroes, I've read this book so often that it's a staple love it book for me.

But I do get how it can lose it's appeal for readers but not for me, never for me..I love the whole book! haha.

Holly said...

Meh. I've never really cared for this book. I hated how Nick treated Lauren and to be honest, sometimes I'm too empathetic. I just can't stand it when someone is humilliated. It makes my guts hurt and my head pound and I feel like I want to throw up, so I just avoid books like this one whenever possible. LOL

Rowena said...

How did he humiliate Lauren?

Holly said...

Well, maybe HE didn't humilliate her on purpose, but remember after their weekend together when she just sat around waiting for him to call and then he blew her off? And in his office when she begged him to believe her and he didn't? Stuff like that makes my tummy hurt. LOL

Kookie said...

Right. The begging part just annoyed me about Nick...I really thought him hot in the beginning of the story but when he turned out to be too proud when someone begs in front of him, on her knees...well, you know what I said...

Holly said...

I'm with you, Kookie-girl. I'm sooo with you. :)

Rowena said...

Yeah, but well....he was under the impression that she was working for his worst enemy, I understood why he didn't want to believe her, because I wouldn't have believed her had it happened to me in real life, so all that time when she could've told him but didn't, that's what she gets when he didn't believe her, she had all the time in the world and to think that she was working with PHILLIP his most hated enemy, I don't blame him for being so pissed off at her.

And well, he was a playboy about not calling her back, we've all been there and done that, she was able to forgive him for not calling, why can't ya'll? Sheesh...LOL.

Rowena said...

And he DID feel something when she was begging him to believe her, he almost broke, you could tell in the scene where she's begging him, but he steeled himself against it, because he was hurt too...

Kookie said...

I get your point, Dee. It's just that I know I can't do the beggin-on-my-knees thing so I really got to give it to her. Although she really did have all the time in the world to tell him who she was working for. :o)

 
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