What a suck-all read and an overall waste of time. After the first 100 pages it felt like the story was being rehashed endlessly because the author didn’t know what else to write. I had to virtually skim read my way to the end to get through it. The story is about Cat, a successful photographer who’s having a hard time making ends meet because she’s financially responsible for way too many moochers in her family. Her clients don’t pay her, she has bills and creditors up the wazoo and her health suffers drastically because she works round the clock but she still keeps taking on new jobs in the hopes that in a few months everything will be better. Initially she comes across as a tough as nails heroine but really she’s just another doormat waiting for the right jerk-off to walk all over her. And in walks the hero, Travis, one of the most annoying characters I’ve read in a while. He came across as some geezer instead of a guy in his 30s. All he talks about is how rich he is and that he can buy his women because he’s not getting burned again after a failed marriage. All his "I have so much money and I can buy anything" crap just grated like nails on the chalk board. His incessant bragging made him look insecure (which I don’t think was the author’s intention) instead of “manly and virile”. Granted this romance was written in the 80s and they were a bit different then compared to now but I really can’t see how anyone could like these two even if you do like the pain in the butt alpha.Cat’s character was moderately better than Travis’ but she took too much garbage from him and he needed to be kicked to the curb after the first time he called her a whore and a bitch. Better yet when he referred to all women like that you know this guy is flashing the ol’ neon forehead sign “I am a loser”. Their sparring was more like petulant children who needed a good time-out than adults who don’t know how to convey their feelings to one another. Travis was always suspicious of Cat and if you add that to the “you’re nothing but a slutty whore like all the others” over and over well I don’t know why she kept giving him that “one more chance” :-/ She also sounded like a walking skeleton with all her health issues so I found it very hard to believe that she could work as much as she did. A near rape scene with one of her clients by the beach was treated like nothing more than an aggressive flirtation –the guy said he was going to have her whether she wanted it or not and he was forcing her to the ground --had me bug-eyed. She went about her merry way after and continued working with him because of her “contract” (!) and even the hero didn’t bash his head in when he saw it happening --??????? There was way too much photography info filler about colour, light, shadow play blah blah blah that got on my nerves. There’s one of those cutesy 6 year old kids that everyone gushes over but that gets in the way one time to many causing easily avoidable trouble. There’s a sad part almost like Linda Howard’s Cry No More where the heroine is nearly catatonic but in no way is it as well done. The romance itself, though more on the hot side, felt dated almost like an older Judith McNaught contemporary. I didn't think that the h/h were compatible so I couldn't believe in their "love" --how do you love someone who blows like the wind one day treating you like you're lower than dirt and the next day singing your praises?? I also thought the writing was overly flowery and that there was a hyper use of adjectives in general. Lowell went overboard on some of the description and she could've taken out a thesaurus to find some other way to describe the hero's ‘tourmaline eyes’ and ‘tawny hair’ –ack the repetition! She also tried too hard with the feline references for ‘Cat’. At one point you’re wondering if she really is a cat 8-/ What I did like was the beach front setting. She did a good job painting the picture of this white beach house all fresh and sparkling with the sea for a view.So, unlikeable characters, a story that doesn’t move and over the top writing just makes for one bad book.
Cat Cochran is a photographer struggling to make ends meet. She is hired to photograph Travis Danvers and his ship the Wind Warrior.This was an amazing book. I absolutely loved it. There's lots of angst but Cat is a strong heroine and Travis finishes the story beautifully.Cat was born into a rich family and married an even richer man, Billy Nelson, when she was 19, just after her father died. Billy turns out to be truly awful, to the point that Cat eventually ends ups diving naked off his ship and swimming into the ocean for over two miles in the middle of the night to escape being gang raped by him and his friends. She decides that rich men aren't capable of loving anything but themselves.Travis is rich. He married Tina when he was 20. She deliberately got pregnant to catch him, then had an abortion two weeks after their wedding and told him she had a miscarriage. Travis decided that he would never trust a woman with less money than himself. Since then he has only had "relationships" with women that he can buy.So we have this conundrum. Cat hates rich men, and Travis is rich. Travis only wants women he can buy, and Cat won't be bought. Their passion finally overcomes both their reserves, and they enter into an uneasy relationship. Cat works herself to the bone trying to earn enough money to support her family. Now this was the part I found somewhat questionable. Since her father died, her family hasn't had any money and she has been supporting them. Her mother is completely clueless as to finances, and still lives like she is rich. She is actually engaged to a marry a rich man in a couple months, and has just spent a small fortune on her trousseau (funded by Cat). Furthermore, Cat's twin siblings are in medical school and she needs to pay their fees too. On one hand, I understand Cat needing to support her family and not wanting to burden her mother, but it gets somewhat ridiculous towards the end. Why did she let her mother have the money for frivolous things like her trousseau when she is so desperate for money that she can't even afford to go to hospital when her doctor tells her to? As for Travis, I don't think his background story is severe enough to excuse his absolute distrust and hatred of women and the brutally cruel way he ends up treating Cat when he thinks she has lied to him. Still, for all these faults, this was a brilliant story with no cheese at all. Yes, Cat and Travis end up together but not without a lot of pain first. Their happily ever after is well earned and I shed a lot of tears along the way.
What do You think about To The Ends Of The Earth (2015)?
For some reason I found this one quite irritating. The premise was made clear at the outset - two people badly burned by dire previous relationships - now falling in love but afraid to let go of their preconceived notions of rich men and gold-diggers. Clear at the outset, and then battered home repeatedly and then again a few more times. The challenge of the end was interesting in that it's not often described in detail in this type of novel I think (and I'm being cagey as I don't want to create a spoiler). Nonetheless, the book let itself be read. Received as a bookcrossing RABCK, always fun!
—penelopewanders
Even though this book did make me cry , I still only thought that it was worth 3 ** . It's very dated and usually I can deal with that just fine, take Separate Beds by LS, very dated but still a fav of mine that I love to reread. TTEOTE however had me skimming through a lot of the dialog, too many "my love"s and over use of nick names such as Fire and Ice for the h.Cathy, aka Cat (h) knows that rich men are just incapable of love , she's been there and learned the hard way. After her experience with her ex husband , that lesson was well and truly learned. Now she is living on her own and earning her own way as a photographer . One day while she's out in the Ocean taking pictures, she's so focused on getting the perfect picture that she fails to notice that the tide is coming in, and it's a little too late when she does notice. As she is trying to make her way back to shore out of no where comes a very handsome stranger and he wisks her to safety. Travis (H) can't believe that he was watching this young woman who apparently had no clue that the tide was coming in, as he watches her he notices that she doesn't look around for help , she doesn't call out for help and really doesn't expect anyone to be there to help her. Now he knows that she lives alone, and if he's lucky she will repay him with a simple dinner date to repay him for the rescue. He's not looking for anything meaningful, just a mutually gratifying experience until it runs it's course , and then they can part ways. His exwife has taught him that women only really love money and if he ever marries again it will be to some one who is as rich as he is.Like I said, this book is dated and it reads like an early Harliquin. It is a tear jerker and for that alone I think it's worth a read.
—Noelle
I only gave this 2 stars because Travis is a complete jerk. He calls Cat a whore and says some other really rude and mean things to her. And she is supposed to forgive him and take him back? Too little too late. Also, his crew on his boat are always tiptoeing around him because he is angry and in a bad mood. But they really like him and are loyal to him. It sounds as if he needs some anger management training. I also could not have cared less about Cat. If I had to hear one more time how hard she had to work, I would have thrown the book across the room. She had a pretty cushy job. Try working in a factory or as a waitress or working two jobs. Then we'll talk...
—Sue
