Historically inaccurate and confusing. A dull, unrealistic story with one dimensional charactersFirst, the historical inaccuracies. I'm not usually an "accuracy Nazi". It is fiction, after all, and is meant to entertain. However, when the author presents things that are so conflicting in time and place that you can't even figure out what decade the story is supposed to be taking place in, it's pretty bad. At one point, the hero's family mentions investigating the "California gold rush" as a way to raise money. Okay. So, we're led to believe this must be taking place in the 1850s, right? And yet, the descriptions of the clothing and the fact that all the characters travel by coach (no trains mentioned) means it can't possibly be the 1850s. AND THEN the author uses as a major plot point the Scottish tradition of "reaving" (which she spelled incorrectly anyway. It should be "reiving"),which is basically organized stealing from the English. This behavior was basically a thing of the past as early as the mid 1700s. So, it's either 1850, 1805 (according to the clothes) or 1690? A high school kid with a history text book could have done a better job writing a story. Second, the one dimensional characters. The hero is madly in love with a married woman and views the heroine as an irritating termagant (Yes, dear author, we realize you own a thesaurus. Nag and Shrew also work). Then, for no real logical reason at all, he is suddenly interested in the heroine. Then, just a few skips later, madly in love with her. Why? What the hell happened? Nothing, that's what. It's an empty turn of sentiment that leads us to believe that the author is either lazy or she meant to write a character who was really that flighty. The heroine follows the tired old plot device of not believing she is lovable because she's not a drop dead beauty. She continues to doubt the hero loves her and concocts in her mind ever more ridiculous explanations for all the kind, lovable behavior he shows toward her. It's absurd. This line is acceptable if the hero really is being round-about or if he's emotionally distant and doesn't show his feelings. Here we have a hot-blooded Scotsman who does nothing BUT show feelings, explicitly, and yet she still doubts. Simply being modest in looks (she is not ugly) is just not explanation enough for the heroine's doubts. The author should have built a more devastating back story if she wanted us to believe this. Otherwise, the heroine is just neurotic. Finally, the twists and turns of the subplot (the heroine's father and his past) are just convoluted. We think we know the truth, then he gets drunk and reveals the "real truth"...THEN we find out that he made it all up, despite having been drunk and supposedly "letting it slip". I found the subplot with the heroine's father to just be utterly unnecessary and very poorly thought out. The entire story could have gone without any of it.
Lachlan MacGregor, laird miskin gara-gara ibu tirinya melarikan uang warisan dari ayahnya yg telah meninggal, terpaksa datang ke Inggris untuk mencari istri yang kaya raya. Namun di Inggris, dia bertemu lagi dengan Megan yang telah mencuri hatinya setahun yang lalu. Walau Megan sudah menjelaskan dia telah menikah dengan Devlin, Lachlan tetap ngotot untuk memperistri Megan.kimberly, yang dipaksa ayahnya utk mencari suami dan menikah (karena ayahnya ingin menikah dengan janda yang tidak ingin seatap dengan anak tirinya), melihat sendiri dengan sebal tingkah laku Lachlan yang tidak tahu malu mengejar Megan. Namun hal ini juga tidak menghentikan Lachlan utk memperhatikan Kimberly, yang dimata Lachlan semakin hari semakin cantik, hingga pada suatu malam dalam keadaan mabuk, Lachlan merenggut keperawanan Kimberley.Kimberly yang mengetahui Lachlan masih nekad menginginkan Megan, memutuskan Lachlan tidak bisa menjadi suaminya dan mengabaikan kehadiran Lachlan. Lachlan yang cemburu pada para laki-laki yang mengejar Kimberley, memukul salah seorangnya, yang mengakibatkan dendam dan menfitnah Lachlan sebagai pencuri kuda milik Devlin. Kimberly yang merasa bersalah, berusaha membantu Lachlan utk menemukan si pencuri dan berniat membersihkan nama Lachlan dengan mengajukan alibi bahwa Lachlan bersama dengannya pada saat malam pencurian kuda tersebut.Dan ternyata Lachlan mengetahui bahwa Kimberly mencintainya dan Lachlan juga mencintai Kimberly dan tidak peduli jika Kimberly tidak lagi sebagai pewaris yang kaya raya (karena ayah Kimberly mengancam akan menghapus Kimberly sbg anaknya dan mencoret dari pewarisnya jika Kimberly tetap menikah dengan orang Skotlandia) Kimberly pun akhirnya mengetahui bahwa dirinya juga anak haram dan berdarah setengah Skotlandia. Di Highland inilah Kimberly mengetahui sejarah asal-usulnya dan mengetahui sebab-musabab kenapa ayah tirinya amat membenci orang Skotlandia.Buku kedua Sherring Cross ini masih menarik dan layak utk dikoleksi. Adegan kelucuan antara pasangan kekasih ini tetap ada. Semoga buku ke-3 Sherring Cross ini juga semenarik buku 1 & 2 nya.
What do You think about Love Me Forever (2006)?
For a time back in the 80’s & 90’s, my reading material of choice was frequently bodice rippers, historical fiction, and regency romances with a few contemporary best sellers thrown in for good measure. Most of them were pretty steamy (blush) &/or overly romantic, but I read them during a time in my life when I found myself as a single parent, and these books fit the bill. I found them to be highly entertaining. I recently donated a slew of them, but I wanted to catalog them all the same. So if there is no rating here from me, it means that I don’t remember anything about the book other than I obviously read it. If there is a rating, it must have been in some way memorable for me.I only wish that GoodReads had been around years ago so that I had some idea of the many books I have read – there were thousands! I did own a copy of this book, but most others came from the library because back then I could never have afforded the 100+ books I generally read in any given year.And by the way, I still read bodice rippers – just not quite so many as I used to!
—Mo
My first Johanna Lindsey novel and it blew me far far away from the modern times. This book was left on my shelf for years after I bought it and it wasn't until recently that I decided to give it a go and what do you know, it was like a dimond underneath all that coal dust!'Love me forever' tells a story of the romance between Kimberly Richards and Lachlan MacGregor. With some twists and turns and bumps along the way, the two who met under less than ideal circumstances started to feel things for each other they've never felt before. The pace of the book was just right and character development was done well. The main protagonists of the story (Kimberly and Lachlan) was also very likable. An amazing change of pace, this book took me on an adventure and gave me a chance to relax. After reading this, I am most certainly a Johanna Lindsey fan and will not rest till I read all her books!
—Isabel
I absolutely loved the narrator of this book, his scottish brogue was great - I loved Lachlan MacGregor.Kimberly Richards has just come out of 12 months of mourning the death of her beloved mother and her father is eager for her to marry so he can remarry himself. Kimberly also can't wait to get away from her father - there has been no love lost between them. She goes to the home of the Devlin St James and his wife Megan (they are a Duke and his Duchess), a scot, the improverished Laird of Clan MacGregor also turns up there looking for a wife. Megan thinks it would be a great idea to match these two, that is until she finds out who The MacGregor is, he is the man who tried to kidnap her before she was married. Devlin did not want him in his house, but because he was related by marriage, his aunt Margaret talked Devlin into letter Lachlan stay.There are many ups and downs to this relationship but when Lachlan and Kimberly are discovered in bed by a maid their future is set. It was still not a smooth ride and there was a big discovery for Kimberly to make. All in all it was a very fun story.
—Bronwyn Rykiert
