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Bestseller Romance Series

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3.8
99 ratings
9
BOOKS
1,703
PAGES
~28h 23min
READING TIME

About Author

Charlotte Lamb

Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. After 1977 Sheila lived on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.

Description

Eight years ago, Frazer Holt had broken Nicole’s heart by rejecting her and marrying her friend Melanie instead, and since then Nicole has seen nothing of either of them. Now, though she learned that Melanie had died, in suspicious circumstances, on the island of Corfu where she and Frazer had been living – and she determined to get to the bottom of the affair. But that would involve meeting Frazer again. Was that wise? Suppose Melanie’s death hadn’t been an accident? And suppose Nicole found she still loved him?

How the series evolves

beginning
#668 Darkness of the heart
3.0· strong start
peak
No Longer a Dream
4.5· best book in series
finale
The Lonely Season
3.8· sticks the landing
overall
3.8· it's a rollercoaster

Books in this Series

#668

Darkness of the heart

3.0 (11)
1

Eight years ago, Frazer Holt had broken Nicole’s heart by rejecting her and marrying her friend Melanie instead, and since then Nicole has seen nothing of either of them. Now, though she learned that Melanie had died, in suspicious circumstances, on the island of Corfu where she and Frazer had been living – and she determined to get to the bottom of the affair. But that would involve meeting Frazer again. Was that wise? Suppose Melanie’s death hadn’t been an accident? And suppose Nicole found she still loved him?

Dark Dream

3.8 (22)
2

The engagement shocked them all Meredith had been Michael's girlfriend for years, and although he hadn't formally proposed, she'd always understood they would marry. She was stunned speechless, then, to meet his fiancee! Simon, who'd known Meredith all her life, was quick to intervene. "Congratulations!" he ventured heartily. "Not ten minutes ago Meredith consented to be my wife, too." It was a believable enough lie. Everyone had hoped that Simon would marry again to make a proper home for his son--and Merry'd had a crush on him once. But that was no basis for marriage!

Bed of Roses

3.6 (16)
1

In a hidden canyon of the Sierra Madres in Mexico, Zafiro Talavera is the caretaker of her grandfather's once-fearsome band of outlaws, and the task is not easy. She is constantly watching out for bounty hunters and other desperados searching for the loot her grandfather has hidden away. Equally daunting is coping with the eccentricities of the decrepit Talavera Gang. Zafiro's most fervent dream is of living in a normal town with a normal family. Then into her carefully guarded "fortress" comes a mysterious, wounded man known only as Sawyer. Has he come to steal her gold or her heart? She enlists Sawyer to teach her men to be the outlaws they once were so they can defend themselves against the evil bandit sworn to steal Zafiro away from them. Sawyer resists the task of teaching a drunk, a deafman, and a codger who believes himself to be St. Peter how to ride and shoot. But when the threat finally comes, Sawyer and the men rally, defeat the enemy and save Zafiro. Paisley is a master comedienne. This delightful story has characters that will make you laugh out loud and a love story that will give you goosebumbs.

Blind date

4.0 (1)
0

"Men should be kept barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen." There, Peggy grinned mischievously, no man would "warm up" to an answer like that. Especially not Adam Gale, the sexiest celebrity in the country - bound to be a chauvinist. Sure Adam looked like any woman's dream come true, but it was Peggy's interest in communications that had prompted her to enter Australia's nationally televised Blind Date contest. She didn't intend to win it. But she did! So obviously the real Adam Gale loved a challenge. Well, Peggy mused, he'd just met her!

A Passionate Affair

4.0 (1)
0

Jay Ravek is not in your league". Cassandra was warned by her friend Liz - something Cassandra found easv to believe. But she felt reasonably safe from Jay, because after the unhappy and disillusioning experience of marriage with Mike Roland, she was reluctant to get involved with a man anyway. But it wasn't as simple as that- and in no time Cassandra found herself not only involved, but married to Jay. It was clear, nevertheless, that he did not love her; was that because he was still involved with Liz…

Comparative Strangers

4.0 (22)
1

It was outrageous. He couldn't be serious! One day Amanda was happily engaged to Nigel, a flamboyant British car rally driver, the next she was the reluctant fiancee of his stern, laconic older brother, Malory Templeton. As if she hadn't been through enough. Hadn't finding Nigel in the arms of another woman been more than she deserved? The hard glitter in Malory's eyes told her otherwise. Malory was a virtual stranger to her, but Amanda had no choice. Her own foolish pride had caused the crazy switch in fiances, and Malory, it seemed, was going to hold her to it.

No Longer a Dream

4.5 (15)
1

Was he offering her a second chance for love? To research her book, author Cat Howard had chased down Caleb Steele, the arrogant owner of a film studio. But when she woke up in his bed one morning, unable to remember how she'd got there, she was horrified! Her only love had died five years earlier, and she had never stopped missing him. Now she was torn between loyalty to the past and a powerful attraction she could not deny. Cat's genuine innocence and fiery wit captivated Caleb and he was determined to win her. If only her memories would release her.

Don't play games

3.7 (6)
1

Should she stake her future on him? Kate had been brought up to believe that promises were not to be given lightly, and despite her husband's lies and blatant infidelity, she'd managed to hold on to her integrity--if not her ability to trust. Alex Dalton didn't dabble in power games the way Kate's husband had. When Alex played, he played to win. He sized up the odds and never underestimated his opposition. Kate knew she wanted what Alex offered... but she couldn't understand what he wanted with her.

The Lonely Season

3.8 (5)
0

Self control was only a mask she wore. Gina Bennett, victim of a freak accident, had suffered plenty. She wasn't about to let her publisher, Leo Sterne, open old wounds—especially the memory of her disastrous first infatuation. It was bad enough that Leo thought she'd ruined his sister's marriage. Now he wanted much more than an admission of her guilt. He needed her to help his deaf young son. And against his will, he wanted her. All Gina wanted was to forget—forget the past, her loneliness and her need for love. But Leo and the boy made that impossible.