Oh boy! It was... ok.

The Storm probably refers to the constant bickering of the women in this book. There are two men. The hero and the OM. The OM is just some guy nothing important. The hero... I was sorry for him.

Come here James! Have a hug!

I have not read about a more pitiful hero in all AM books. Heck, in all of HPs. He is supposed to be an alpha but really the poor guy is just a victim here. His mom nags. His cousin nags. His ex nags. The heroine nags. He HID IN HIS ROOM! And then later he left the house. Really, James! Have a hug, baby!

I can see him after the HEA. “Yes, darling! Coming! Got your slippers and your tea!”

The heroine Domine is petulant and annoying and an ungrateful brat and I can’t see what he sees in her. Her shinning moment: Getting angry cause he didn’t acknowledge his feelings for her, pushing him till she gets her way and they start making out and then pushing him away and slamming into the bathroom cause... she’s not that kind of girl.

Pooooor, poooor James!

hard to read... 2 1/2 stars, August 14, 2008

MY THOUGHTS: The beginning of the book seemed to be interesting, but it deteriorated after that. It was just hard to read for me. I noticed that most of Anne Mathers super old books written in the 70's, most of the heroines smoked. Didn't really like that. Maybe that's how it was back then. I felt the story didn't really flow. James, the hero seemed to be coming and going so I couldn't really see the attraction/love he had for Domine. Same with Domine. I just didn't see the chemistry between them. This is another one of those almost 20 years older age gap books. Oh and there is a spanking of the heroine in this book. So so book for me. Will likely not read again.

I didn't get the sense that the hero and heroine truly had enough time to develop feelings for one another. The two hardly had anytime alone as the hero's mom and cousin lived with him. I did like the hero's passion for the heroine, Domine.



Reasons you may or may not like this book:

1. heroine is 17 & hero is 37. This is book number 14 of the HP series.
2. heroine and hero smoked.
3. Very witty exchanges between the hero's female relatives.
For example from page 62

"She's quite an animal," he said, stroking the mare's muzzle. 'My father use to ride her sometimes. She was his favorite."'

'I thought that was your mother!' remarked Melody tauntingly,

20 years age gap Is well past my limit of tolerance times 100

Just plain and boring

This book just didn`t do it for me. It was kind of boring an it felt rushed at the end. What about the dominering mother and sweet Malenie? Skip this one, and read one of her other, older books.

La historia entre Dominique y James me recordó a otro libro de la misma autora donde también la pareja se conoce porque H debe ser el nuevo tutor de h.

No logré conectar con los personajes, mi personaje favorito fue Lucia, fue un personaje que aportó mucho apoyo a ambos protagonistas y logró abrirles los ojos, aunque debo de admitir que no comprendo como se enamoraron James y Dominique si se veían muy poco, James siempre estaba viajando.

James fue un personaje que me gustó pero a la vez no tanto y Dominique fue un personaje que tampoco me convenció mucho.

Se llevan como 20 años de diferencia y es por esto que James no quiere corromper a Dominique pero ella está muy segura de amarlo, me gustó que al final él pudiera guiarse por sus sentimientos y no por los prejuicios que puede haber en la sociedad. Este libro fue hecho en los años 70 por lo que es comprensible que las parejas pudieran tener tanta diferencia de edad y las muchachas se casarán tan jóvenes.

“—No eres la misma chica flaca y desanimada que llegó a Grey Witches, en muy pocas semanas has cambiado; la vida en el campo y la buena comida han contribuido a mejorar tu apariencia—hizo una pausa y en voz baja añadió—: no permitas que James te haga daño.

Dominique podía haberle dicho a Melanie que su consejo llegaba tarde, James ya había empezado a hacerla sufrir.”

Seventeen-year-old Domine thought she was alone in the world when her guardian and only relative, Great-Uncle Henry Farriday, died; nevertheless she was a little daunted when she learned that Great-Uncle Henry had consigned her to the care of the unknown James Mannering until she was eighteen. She was no less daunted when she actually met James and went to stay with him and his mother in their home in Yorkshire. For James was only thirty-seven and a very attractive man, with what seemed like a harem of equally attractive momen vying for his attention - and it was not long before Domine found herself, very much against her will, joining their number. But in the face of all that competition, how could she imagine that he would ever see her as anything but a child?

"Storm in a Rain Barrel" is the story of Domine and James.

Our heroine is an orphan, who grew up in a convent. She had a guardian, a great uncle who passes away, handing over his responsibilities to his illegitimate son. The hero is a handsome playwriter, who has women swooning all over him. He comes to fetch the heroine, and takes her to his ancestral home. She soon becomes a bother for his mother, a confidante to his cousin, and a bone of contention for his many admirers. But a forbidden attraction starts blooming between this guardian/ ward couple, who is separated by 20 years of experience. Will love conquer all?

This May December romance with chain smoking couple might not be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think the characters were strong and likable, had lukewarm chemistry and quite a taboo relationship.

Safe..ish
3/5

Another favorite !!

Great novel but the relationship between the hero and heroine wasn't very long. It didn't seem like they were invested in each other the way other characters are portrayed in other harlequin novels.

For me this was a vintage winner: a guardian-ward romance with a massive age gap (17/37). There's a devastatingly sexy, older hero who's 100% in the mould of Mills & Boon/Harlequin heroes, right down to the "deeply etched" lines and the "sensual curve" of his mouth. And some bonus low-growing sideburns, but hey, this is the 1970s.

Our orphaned heroine is straight out of convent school at 17 years old, and with all the hero's comments about how she looks 14, you might think you were reading a Sara Seale. Particularly when he whisks her off to his remote grim Yorkshire mausoleum in the middle of the grim grey freezing moors, stuffed with weird and unpleasantly hostile relatives.

But this is an Anne Mather, not a Sara Seale, so we are going to get at least a little bit of "action". Not early enough, and not all the way, unfortunately. And there are several moments earlier on when he really needs to kiss her, or get closer to it, but doesn't. We don't get it until page 134.

[And how come they get drenched with rain - used as a literal "cold shower" to halt the action - if they're in a "kind of shallow cave" under an overhanging bluff? So are they in a cave or aren't they?]

Others have commented that the major flaw of Storm in a Rain Barrel is that not enough relationship is built between James and Domine. I would have to agree with that. There is an eleventh hour effort made to establish some kind of relationship-building, when Domine seems to take about six months to recover from flu and James pays daily visits. But it's all somewhat too little too late.

The problem is that early on, Mather keeps them apart nearly 100% of the time. They barely interact in the weeks following the drive up from London. James doesn't even know that Domine is working full-time as an unpaid servant. So when and how he falls for her his anyone's guess. We need more of the getting-to-know you before all the kissing, otherwise it does feel - as James says - nothing but lust:

n  "And if you imagine the sexual urgency which we just shared has anything to do with that sweet emotion, then kill the thought. I admit - I wanted you, Domine. For my sins, I can't deny it. But with you - or anyone else - the result would have been just as satisfying!"n

Wonderful types, these vintage romance heroes!

Also, rather like a Sara Seale novel, there's an effort to keep portraying Domine as plain, alongside a conflicting effort to suggest she's actually incredibly attractive. She's given drab and plain clothes and described as "pale and uninteresting" and "not good-looking". Then later on a bit of exercise and cold wind put some rose into her complexion. But soon we're once more told she's "not, as they say, pretty", but right the next moment someone suggests she becomes a model.

Domine is seventeen years old, slim, with glossy hair, large dark eyes and good skin. If that package doesn't make her "pretty", she must be practically deformed. Hardly anyone isn't pretty when they're seventeen.

Anyway, what else have we got here? Three Other Women: the first is deliciously ghastly - her name is Yvonne, she has curly blonde hair and a shrill voice. Then there's poor old unpaid servant-cousin Melanie, who turns out to be quite nice. Finally there's glamorous widow Lucia, who's actually an old friend and really has more of a fairy godmother role.

Oh - and a final note - Anne Mather seems obsessed with the phrase "giving head" in this novel. She uses it at least three times, for cars and horses. Fortunately it's not what you think it is, though it might have been a rather more fascinating novel if it were.

*long exasperated sigh